


Against Your Will, Against My Love

by jukukira



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bottom Eren Yeager, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Top Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), actually no you definitely will want to baby eren, and so do annie and mikasa, and you might want to baby eren, but then again who has ever liked kenny, eren is a fkn cutie (as always), ew what's ereri, hange and erwin appears more than armin and jean, i just remembered to add in kenny, in fact jean appears rarely, it'll always ALWAYS be rivaere / riren for me, lmao sorry ereri fans but i never liked eren topping, not really all that important but hey character development, oh and annie and levi used to work together, oh look i changed that tag, you definitely will not like him in here either, you might hate levi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-12 23:50:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 42,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5686384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jukukira/pseuds/jukukira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would you say if the person who your friend introduced you to, the person who agreed to be your tutor, the person who you feel an attraction to, is the one who raped you two nights ago?</p><p>Or so you think.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Unforgettable Incident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the first fanfics I have _ever_ written for _any_ fandom ever. I was fourteen back then so I was too young and too stupid to realise that this plot is just plain messed up. I would like to say that my friend was the one who gave me this prompt, so she’s sick in the head, but I went ahead and written this, which makes me just as sick in the head. I never liked how it turned out because of the grammar mistakes and whatnot, but now that I’m six years older and _so_ much wiser when it comes to English, I am much better at writing. The original one had a really bad ending, where the victim accepted his rapist’s apology really easily and everything was all over the place, but I’m not stupid anymore. This one is more realistic.
> 
> I JUST WANT TO STRESS OUT THAT, should you be a rape victim, YOU SHOULD **NEVER** FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR RAPIST, NO MATTER HOW APOLOGETIC OR ATTRACTIVE THEY ARE. THEY HAVE USED YOU AGAINST YOUR WILL AND THAT IS AN UNFORGIVEABLE ACT. THIS IS **FANFICTION** , AND EVERYTHING IN HERE IS FAKE, AND SHOULD **NEVER** BE RE-ENACTED IN THE REAL WORLD UNLESS 1) IT DOES NOT HARM THOSE INVOLVED, AND 2) CONSENT FROM THOSE INVOLVED ARE GIVEN.
> 
> I do **_not_** condone the act of rape and I **_never_** will. I just wanted to share this, because I want people to see how sick I am back then. I have no idea what I will gain from this, but I hope you have an open mind.
> 
> If you have been raped / know someone who has been raped, REPORT IT TO THE AUTHORITIES IMMEDIATELY.
> 
> If you guys don’t get the hint from above, this entire fic has TRIGGER WARNINGS, of mild (or fast) description of rape and whatnot. So please, _please_ read at your own discretion.

“N-no! Please! Leave me alone!”

 

A cry for help resonates throughout the night sky, its owner being forcibly pushed up against the brick wall. Eren struggles uselessly against his captor’s hold, trying to break free when he feels his belt being roughly unbuckled. He gasps and tries to wiggle free even more. All that is rewarded to him is a slam against the wall. His belt comes off with a snap and the button is torn off next almost immediately.

 

Eren sobs into the bricks and cement when the cold air whips against his bare skin, his jeans and boxers pooling around his ankles. He tries to look back but the man pushes his head harder against the wall as he unzips his own trousers, just enough to let his cock free.

 

Without any warning, he aligns Eren’s hips, nudging the tip of his cock against his entrance. Eren feels a flash of fear and he immediately begs for mercy. “No, please! Let me go! I don’t want this! _I don’t want this!_ ”

 

The man doesn’t listen and he spits messily onto Eren’s arse, saliva dribbling down the curve. The man pulls away and Eren feels a twinge of hope. Is the man letting him free? Did he realise that Eren isn’t worth it? His hopes are crumbled easily when he hears something squelching and the same heat returning to the entrance.

 

“Wait!” Eren screams. “No! No, please don’t –”

 

The man silences Eren as he squeezes into the entrance with one hard shove. Eren throws his head back as a blinding pain shoots up his spine. The man starts his thrusting and tears fill Eren’s eyes as he struggles even harder. “No! It hurts! Stop it, please!”

 

A big cold hand roughly clamps his mouth and forces it shut, the grip tightening whenever Eren tries to free his mouth. With every thrust, Eren lets out muffled cries of pain, hot tears dripping from his tightly screwed shut eyes. He desperately scratches at the wall, hoping that if he put in enough pressure, he can claw his way through.

 

A cursory adjust of his hips and the man slams ruthlessly into the boy’s pliant body, increasing his speed. Eren’s eyes snap open as the man increases his speed. The hand that was covering his mouth drops to his hips, digging his nails deep into the flesh.

 

Now that his mouth is uncovered, Eren is free to scream. But all that escapes him are whines and whimpers in pain. He can feel the tissues tearing and something warm trickling down his inner thighs. He must be bleeding.

 

Eren tenses when the man leans forward and grunts. He stiffens even more when something warm shoots up in him. Renewed strength finds Eren and he thrashes wildly, screaming for the man to stop.

 

The man complies with his request, surprisingly, pulling out and throwing Eren to the dirty floor of the alley. Eren’s legs are shaking, too tired to keep him up and too scared to even stand. A sticky warm substance coats his thighs and Eren covers his face with his arms, crying with choked sobs as the man finishes cumming on him.

 

He pulls out a pack of tissues and cleans himself up, tossing the remaining tissues onto Eren’s shaking body. He zips up his jeans and leaves without giving Eren a backward glance.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“ _… en … Eren …_ Eren!”

 

Eren jolts up from his reverie and glances around. The first thing he sees is his best friend looking worriedly at him. “I’ve been calling your name for the past five minutes,” Armin says.

 

“Oh,” Eren frowns apologetically. “You were? I’m sorry.”

 

Armin furrows his brows in concern. He leans forward to grasp Eren’s hand, stroking the back with the pad of his thumb reassuringly. “Eren, are you okay?” Without giving him a chance to answer, he continues. “You’ve been awfully quiet as of late. Is there anything on your mind? Anything you want to tell me at all?”

 

Eren looks down and shakes his head. _Liar,_ he scoffs at himself.

 

Armin’s look doesn’t relax. “Are you sure? You can tell me anything, you know.”

 

“Just …” Eren looks up, hoping an excuse would form. His eyes catches sight of the umbrella next to them and his unasked question of why they are here jumps back into mind. “Just wondering why we’re here.”

 

Armin had called for Eren during his break and told him to meet up at the café three blocks down the school. Eren had asked why but Armin said that he would explain later when they meet up. He’s never one to keep silent, so it made Eren a little suspicious and a lot curious.

 

Armin purses his lips and his eyes narrow slightly, disapproving of how Eren changed the subject so suddenly, and disappointed that Eren doesn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth. Armin retracts his hand and sits back. “We’re gonna be meeting a friend of mine.”

 

“Why here?” Eren asks in confusion. He doesn’t have any classes today but he knows Armin does. He wouldn’t mind meeting up with him somewhere on campus. Besides, it might save Armin a lot of time by just staying in campus rather than leaving the school grounds.

 

Armin shrugs. “I wanted to get out of the school. It feels suffocating being stuck there all the time.”

 

Eren nods. That makes sense. Armin spends so much time in campus it might as well be his home. “So, why are we meeting this friend?” he sips his iced mocha chai tea, watching in amusement at how Armin grimaces after taking a small sip of his Americano.

 

Armin leans forward and grabs the handful of sugar packets Eren had brought back along with their drinks earlier on. “You said you needed help with your studies, right?” he looks up at Eren for confirmation, ripping open a sugar packet and dumping the entire contents into his cup.

 

Eren laughs at the sight of his friend pouring a mountain of sugar into his cup and nods. “My grades are dropping, sadly, and I can’t concentrate ever since that in—” He stops himself.

 

“Yes?” Armin urges, leaning forward in anticipation. “Incident?” he guesses.

 

Eren bites his lower lip. Damn it. Armin is really smart. He shouldn’t have let himself babble on like that. He busies his mouth by sipping more of his drink, shaking his head. “No,” he denies. “The … um … the in … the inebriation of my friend. Yeah.”

 

“…”

 

“He got drunk and it wasn’t a pretty sight,” Eren says, taking another long sip.

 

Armin sighs and leans back. Eren feels a surge of guilt well up in him. Armin’s in the same year as he is and he had taken a liking to Eren immediately when he had asked for directions when he first transferred to Sina High. From then on, Armin had made it a point to be with Eren every time he can, every day if possible, building their friendship to that of inseparability. Eren’s grateful. Armin’s a really reliable friend, smart too. Always busy, especially since he’s the Student Vice-President of the Science Department, but Eren wouldn’t have him any other way.

 

Armin checks his watch and stirs his coffee. “Anyway, he should be here any minute,” he digs through the pockets of his lab coat – Eren couldn’t tell if he had just come from the chemistry lab or if that’s part of his attire of the day (Armin loves the damned thing) – and takes out his phone to scroll through his messages.

 

“Well, what does he look like?” Eren props his elbows on the table. “Maybe he’s already here but couldn’t find us because of the stupid umbrella hiding us.” He and Armin are seated by the window, where one of the tables with an umbrella placed outside is blocking Eren from admiring the view. Stupid thing. It’s such a beautiful day and the umbrella just _has_ to be a dick.

 

“You just don’t like yellow, admit it,” Armin snorts, not even looking at Eren.

 

“It makes me look like I have an extreme sunburn, okay?” Eren grumbles. He knows he’s tanned enough. No need to look any darker than he already does. “So this friend of yours … I’m assuming he’s going to be tutoring me?”

 

Armin shoves his phone back into his pocket and nods. Figures. He had expressed time and time again that he would _love_ tutoring Eren, especially since he loves Science so much (which Eren doesn’t need any help in, but thanks anyway, Armin), but he just doesn’t have the time. Eren doesn’t want to be the one to rip him away from his beloved studies, so he tries to make do until Mikasa returns home from Stohess and tutors him. She’s not a genius like Armin is, but she’s still fairly smart.

 

“Do I know him?”

 

Armin hums. “Doubt it. You’ve never seen any of my friends, anyway. Well, not in the daylight.”

 

Eren stares at him, raising an eyebrow. “What, are your friends gremlins?”

 

Armin stares blankly at Eren. “I mean you only see them at night time, dummy. You like to tag along whenever they want to go clubbing or to the arcades. Don’t you remember?”

 

Eren scrunches his nose as he tries to remember. “No,” he sighs. “But I remember a lot of darkness with flashing lights. They made my head hurt and I couldn’t even see you. I almost would have gotten an epileptic fit from the lights.”

 

Armin rolls his eyes and chuckles. “Such a drama queen. Anyway, he’s a guy, because Lord know that I need more girl friends.”

 

Upon hearing the gender of his potential tutor, Eren sinks down in his seat. “… It’s a guy?” he nearly whispers. The … _incident_ that recently happened is still so fresh and vivid in his mind that he’s still a bit wary around men. In fact, he had to stop himself from screaming and slamming the door in the poor delivery man’s face just yesterday.

 

“I don’t really have friends from the opposite gender,” Armin sighs, a bit upset, “considering how they think I’m weird and all. So yes. It’s a guy.” He checks his watch. “Who should be here any time soon.”

 

Eren swallows, his heart thumping painfully in his chest. In an effort to distract himself from making a break for it, he crosses his legs and pinches his right thigh. It hurts, but it doesn’t lessen the desire to high-tail it right there and then. “Who is he anyway?” he asks instead.

 

Armin laughs. “Oh, he’s a couple of years higher than us. We don’t have any classes together, but he’s in the Science and English Departments so I see him sometimes. It was my first day and it was lunch time, so I was looking for a place to sit. He didn’t see me and accidentally spilled come coffee on me.”

 

Eren frowns. “It’s hard to believe that _he_ caused the accident and not you. What’s his name?”

 

Armin frowns but has to agree with Eren. After all, due to him being engrossed in his thoughts more than once, he’s prone to causing accidents. “Levi Ackerman. And yeah. The coffee was scalding, but the damn prick didn’t even apologise. But it was okay because he had a face fit for Halloween and he looked like he didn’t have any friends so I decided to be his friend. He took me out the next day, though, and he did apologise. We became quite close friends on that day.”

 

Eren smiles and relaxes slightly. Armin’s a good judge of people. There’s no reason to fear this Levi Ackerman guy if he’s a close friend of Armin. Eren takes another sip of his drink, swirling the straw inside to crush any soft ice. “That’s good.” He fingers the key pendant resting against his chest and slides it back and forth along the thick brown cord, an old habit of his. “At least he’s your friend, you know. Someone you trust.”

 

Armin suddenly looks at the tabletop, biting his lip.

 

Eren knows that look. It’s the look that Armin wears whenever he’s holding back some information that he’s not sure whether to share. “Armin …” he lets go of his pendant. “What’s wrong …?”

 

Armin looks up at Eren and frowns. “I’m not sure if I should tell you this, but I don’t want you to trust him so much,” he says in a low voice.

 

Eren is, for lack of a better word, surprised. Isn’t this guy supposed to be Armin’s friend? What the hell is he saying? Don’t trust him so much? What? “Um, why?”

 

Armin scans the nearby vicinity, as if making sure his friend isn’t anywhere close. “Well,” he starts, resting his elbows on the table and steeping his fingers together at the top. “Levi _is_ smart, that I cannot deny. But he’s some sort of genius, you know? He knows his stuff, as though he’s been born with the knowledge.”

 

Eren looks at Armin, more than confused. “Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing?”

 

“No,” Armin’s frown deepens. Sometimes he doesn’t like how daft Eren can get. “Don’t you get it, Eren? With that kind of knowledge, he can skip school anytime he wants and the teachers would definitely allow him because he’s that smart. We don’t even know why he comes to school anyway since he apparently knows everything. A few days before you entered Sina High, there had been a robbery at the nearby bank. It happened during school hours, so the school was safe of suspicions. But Levi had chosen that one day to be absent, so everyone thinks it was him who did it.”

 

Eren furrows his brows together. “Aren’t you just jumping to conclusions?”

 

“Yes, and I apologised by treating him when they caught the culprit,” Armin says, ignoring Eren rolling his eyes. “But it still doesn’t help that Levi can do anything he wants. He’s like … the good boy-cum-rebel – the one who gets good grades but still bullies people around.”

 

“Does he?”

 

“No. But the getting good grades part is true.”

 

“Then I don’t see what’s the problem,” Eren concludes.

 

“ _Eren_!” Armin wants to shake him. “Levi … isn’t a normal person. He’s still a little angel in the teachers’ eyes: he hands his homework on time, doesn’t do drugs, doesn’t do what everyone thought he was supposed to during his ‘free periods’. He dresses like he owns a fashion company, acts like he rules the world, and he even got the principal to be nice to him. And the principal is like the devil’s offspring. It’s like he’s trying to get everyone to see that side of him so if he _does_ do something bad, they wouldn’t think it’s him at all.” He sighs. “Even  _I_  don’t trust him enough, and he’s one of my closest friends.”

 

Eren stares for a while before shaking his head. “He sounds pretty fine to me.”

 

Armin’s jaw drops. “ _Eren_!”

 

“You’re just jealous that he’s smarter than you, that’s all,” Eren says bluntly, removing the plastic cover of his drink and taking a big gulp. He licks away the foam sticking to his upper lip. “I mean, you trust him enough to allow him to be my tutor and you’re telling me all this? Teacher’s pet, good fashion sense, able to make the principal lick his shoes – he sounds pretty damn awesome to me!”

 

“Should I be flattered?” a new voice says somewhere above Armin.

 

Armin sees Eren’s eyes widen and his jaw drop open slightly as he stares at something above Armin’s head. Armin turns around, his brows furrowing when he takes in the newcomer’s appearance.

 

It’s Levi. And Levi is … well …

 

Armin raises a brow at Levi’s choice of clothing. He would usually go all out when it comes to clothes, but he’s … normal today. His hair, which he had been letting grow that it was nearly fully covering his eyes, had been trimmed, his signature undercut hairstyle making its comeback. His ears, which would be usually home to at least three million piercings, now only hold a single black stud in each earlobe. He’s wearing a light grey plain hoodie and has on an unripped pair of black slacks with matching black shoes covering his feet.

 

 _Oh my God, who is this guy and what has he done to Levi,_ is the first thing that flashes through Armin’s mind. He squints his eyes in hopes to see any flaw or defect on Levi to see if it’s a clone or a robot or something, but no. It’s the real Levi. Well, at least, the blank frown and glare combination feels real to Armin. “Aren’t you burning under all that?”

 

Levi shrugs, his facial expression unchanging. “Nah, I’ve been feeling cold all day. I barely felt any heat.”

 

Armin sincerely hopes so, eyeing the outfit hesitantly. Levi has a tendency to faint from extreme exposure to heat. That’s why his room’s settings is usually set to the temperature of Neptune.

 

“Anyway,” Levi moves around the table and stops in front of Eren, who’s still staring at him like he’s the Messiah. “I think I’ve seen you before in a club once but it was too dark. I’m –”

 

“Gorgeous …” Eren mutters, and Armin can see little sparkles in his green eyes.

 

Levi’s eyes slightly widen in surprise and he furrows his brows. “Well, that’s not my name, but I guess I’ll take it, Beautiful.”

 

Armin isn’t really sure whether Levi’s teasing or flirting with Eren, considering his face is as blank as a grade school student’s exam paper. He decides to give him the benefit of the doubt and glares at him slightly. Levi may be one of his closest friends but Eren’s too precious. He’s too precious to be tainted, especially since he gets shy too easily.

 

Eren instantly blushes, looking down to cover his red face. He admits – no, he _knows_ that he’s attractive. But in his perspective, he is a beggar compared to Levi’s heartbreaking looks, looks that he knows people would sell their soul for.

 

“Anyway,” Levi says again, “my name isn’t ‘gorgeous’, but Levi. Levi Ackerman, if you’re like Armin and wanted to know my full name immediately.”

 

 _I know,_ Eren almost says. “Um, hi,” he says instead. He doesn’t want to look up, but some sort of magnetic force is making him look into Levi’s sharp eyes. “I’m Eren Jaeger.” He swears his heart is going on overdrive from staring at Levi’s handsome face.

 

Armin senses Eren’s shy side kicking up, so he smiles. “And I’m Armin Arlert, but I guess you both knew that.”

 

Even though it has Levi frowning pitifully at his pathetic attempt at humour and Eren smiling weakly at him, it has the desired effect; Eren’s blush is almost fully gone.

 

Armin glances at his watch and hastily gulps down the rest of his coffee. He bangs the empty mug onto the table and stands up, wiping his mouth with his lab coat sleeve. Levi grimaces and wrinkles his nose. “I am also out of here. Break time’s almost up and President’s gonna have my head if I’m late for the meeting. You guys wanna come with? You know you’re allowed to.”

 

Levi frowns. “I would love to, but I don’t deal so well with boredom.” He doesn’t even bother to dodge the punch Armin gifts him with on his arm. It’s so light it’s like a fly’s banging into him repeatedly. “I gotta tutor your friend, remember?”

 

“Said friend is here and is in need of tutoring,” Eren says, his hand half in the air and a shy smile on his face.

 

Armin frowns slightly as Eren stands up. They hug and Armin takes that opportunity to whisper into Eren’s ear. “Don’t forget what I just told you,” he mutters, breaking the hug. He smiles and ruffles Eren’s hair (much to the latter’s dismay) and gives Levi a pat on the back. “All right then, have fun. Levi, make sure to start slow. Eren’s mind is like a child’s.”

 

Eren moves to remove his shoe and chuck it at Armin’s stupid fluffy head when Armin departs, laughing and waving bye. Eren grumbles and flops back on his seat, crossing his arms. “I’m not slow,” he says out loud, as if confirming it for Levi. “It’s just that Armin’s fast as hell at picking up things. I learn at a normal speed. He makes me look like a tortoise.”

 

“Reminds me of one of Aesop’s Fables,” Levi says, sinking into the chair which was once vacated by their mutual friend. “The Hare and the Tortoise.”

 

Eren blinks. What does that have to do with anything?

 

“Do you remember how the ending goes? And what the lesson is learned?”

 

Eren nods. “The Hare got too cocky and decided to take a nap before he finished the race, because he thought it was a sure win,” he says softly, mind going back to his childhood days from when he called the Hare an idiot (and then got slapped on the hand by his mother). “Even though the Tortoise was slow, he overtook the Hare and won the race even when the Hare awoke and tried to catch up.”

 

This is probably, arguably, the most famous of all the Fables. Everyone already knows the lesson the story was trying to portray. You would have to be a complete idiot to not know it.

 

“Exactly.” Levi procures a tissue out of nowhere and scrubs at the coffee ring marks Armin’s mug had left behind on the table. The sight of the tissue is enough to make Eren jolt, hitching in a breath as he remembers how his rapist left him in the dirty alley two nights ago to clean himself up.

 

Once Levi deems the table clean enough, he crumples the tissue and disposes it in the mug, pushing it so far away from him other customers might mistake the mug as Eren’s. Eren tries not to look at the mug at all. Levi then drapes an arm over the back of his chair, lifting his legs and crossing them on the table. His pose is so cool, so relaxed that it makes Eren envious.

 

“Slow and steady wins the race,” Levi says in that smooth voice of his. It makes Eren tingle … someplace he’d rather not say. “It’s your way of learning. I don’t care if you learn slowly. As long as you’re learning something and it doesn’t make my already short patience blow a fuse, then we’re all good.”

 

Eren feels a multitude of emotions. He’s so grateful that Levi sees his learning speed (which is still normal, okay) as beneficial to him, but at the same time he’s even antsier. Levi’s an impatient person? He doesn’t seem like it, but now that Eren’s looking at him more properly now, it fits his personality. As well as that scary face of his.

 

A beat of silence pass before Levi speaks again. “So, Eren, right?” Eren nods. “What are you good at?”

 

Eren raises a brow in slight confusion. “Wait, what can you teach me?”

 

Levi raises his own brow to rival Eren’s look. “Well, why don’t you tell me what you’re good at and I’ll tell you what I can teach you.”

 

Eren nods hurriedly. Levi, though he looks to be on the short side, is a very imposing being. He has this air that makes people want to submit to him immediately. “U-uh, well, I’m good at Biology and Physics.”

 

“Chemistry?”

 

“That too.”

 

“Shouldn’t you have just said ‘Science’ then, brat?” Levi tsks.

 

Eren bows his head, shame and embarrassment flushing his cheeks. “… Sorry.”

 

Levi sighs. “Head up.” Eren snaps his head to eye level. Levi’s intimidating glare is still there, but it seems to have softened slightly. “When someone’s speaking to you, maintain eye contact.” His voice also seems to be softer and less harsh, but Eren doesn’t give it much thought when Levi continues. “Anything else?”

 

Eren clears his throat. “W-well, I’m pretty good in English. But … I’m terrible at Math.” He smiles nervously. “I mean, who isn’t …” He notices Levi’s glare intensifying infinitesimally and he quickly corrects himself. “I – I mean, those who aren’t you or Armin, of course! A-and those who actually like Math and are smart – like you, for example, and –”

 

“Eren,” Levi interrupts. “Breathe. Are you trying to distract me with your cuteness?”

 

Eren feels like his face is on fire.

 

“Anyway,” Levi sighs, “where do you feel the most comfortable to study?”

 

Eren presses his hands to his cheeks to try and will his blush down. “I’m sorry?”

 

“I’m definitely not tutoring you in a shitty coffee shop like this,” Levi frowns. “Too noisy and too many people. We may not be able to hear each other very well. A library’s a good place, but I don’t want to risk it, considering how your voice rises as you babble on in nervousness.”

 

The blush which Eren had almost successfully pushed away springs back full force. Eren’s hands shift to his face, covering it almost fully. He gets louder when he’s nervous? He never knew. Did Armin know about this? They’ve been friends for nearly two years now and he never said anything. How about Mikasa? She’s his damn sister, for crying out loud, and not once had she said anything about it. If it were true, that is.

 

Eren peeks from through the cracks of his fingers. “Um, well,” his voice is muffled, but Levi doesn’t comment on it, so his hands stay where they are, “how about … your pl—”

 

“If I allow you to enter my house and one of your dirty ass hair strands touch my floor, I will personally shred you to pieces.” Levi’s tone is relaxed, but the threat and the murderous look in his eyes tell Eren otherwise.

 

Eren swallows and his hands drop to his thighs, grabbing as much of his skinny jeans as he can and twisting it to calm his nerves. “Well,” he clears his throat, “no other choice, then. How about we go to my place?”

 

Levi’s eyes narrow. “How clean is it?”

 

Eren shrugs nervously. “Probably not up to your standards” (which he doesn’t know, but from what he’s seen from Levi, his standards are pretty damn high) “but Armin comes in once in a while to help me clean. So … I guess it’s pretty okay?”

 

Levi stares for a moment before nodding once. “All right, then.” His legs fall back on the floor and he pushes himself up, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Lead the way.”

 

“W-wait –” Eren scrambles to his feet, nearly knocking over the table in the process. Only when he stands up does he realise how short Levi is. He doesn’t make any comment about it, though, because he feels like Levi would slice him on the spot if he does. “You mean right now?”

 

“If not now, then when?”

 

“Maybe _tomorrow_?” Eren wrings his hands to try and convey how sudden bringing Levi to his house is.

 

“No, that’s too late.” Levi’s removes his hands from his pocket and folds his arms. “I’m going to be tutoring you tomorrow, Jaeger. Armin’s already told me of your schedule and we’re both free tomorrow. We need to find a place for us to study, and I need to see if your house is deemed as acceptable enough.”

 

With each word, Eren finds his spirit dropping. Levi’s absolutely right, but like hell would Eren admit that. “Fine,” he mutters, accepting defeat. “Let’s go.”

 

Just as he turns around, he feels something skittering along his hips. Memories of two nights ago flash in his mind and Eren yelps, heart going at an alarming rate. He whips around and sees only Levi, a slightly surprised expression on the latter’s face.

 

“You’re pretty jumpy,” Levi comments. He takes a small step back. “But I guess it’s my fault since I touched you without permission.” He steps closer to Eren and nudges his shoulder. “You have gorgeous eyes, you know that? You should smile more, Beautiful.”

 

Levi heads towards the entrance of the coffee shop, leaving Eren with a stiff body and a red face. If he didn’t need to be leading Levi to his house, then he would gladly stay and rot here for the rest of his life.

 

“Oi! Eren!” Levi’s deep voice calls from the entrance, catching everyone’s attention.

 

Or maybe until Levi loses his patience and decapitates Eren on the spot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Don’t ask about the title. The original one was ‘Messed-Up Tuition’, so that is the best I could come up with.)
> 
> In a way, rewriting this fanfic has helped me realise how much of a fucking idiot I was when it came to writing. The grammar was shit, the storyline was shit, and even the characters were shit. I have no idea how people loved it before.
> 
> This wasn’t supposed to be the first fic I wanted to post here, but after reading the latest chapter of SnK, I just … I just _had_ to rewrite and post this.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! Tell me if I should continue this or let it end like this. Or maybe even delete it completely if you guys think this is truly disgusting and that this should be wiped from the face of the Earth (which wouldn’t be, considering I have this saved in my laptop). I normally wouldn’t be asking for comments, but for writing (and even continuing) a fanfic with such a dark theme, I would need to know if people would want to actually continue reading this.
> 
> Thank you all.


	2. Unwanted Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added a couple characters I forgot to add in the previous chapter. AO3 is extremely thorough with their tags, so I’m not really good at tagging. I may add in more tags in the future. After all, I’m writing this as I go along.
> 
> Also, I just realised that I wrote that Mikasa went to France last chapter when it’s supposed to be Stohess. I already made the changes, and I’m sorry for any inconvenience. It was France in the original fic. I have no idea why I missed that.

“W-well … here we are …”

 

“… Well, don’t just stand there. Open the door.”

 

“Okay, okay! Don’t rush me!”

 

“If you don’t open the damn door right fucking now, I will shove that key up your a—”

 

Eren pushes the handle down and opens the door wide. “Here we are! Welcome to my home.”

 

Levi rolls his eyes and waits for Eren to enter first. “We would’ve been inside even faster if you hadn’t tried to stall for time.” He sighs. “Seriously, kid, I still wasn’t going to leave unless you show me your house.”

 

Eren isn’t really listening, looking around to see if there are any traces of Mikasa in the house. Well, unless she’s hijacked a plane from Stohess and flown all the way here in top speed, then Eren’s got nothing to worry about. She also isn’t one to drop by unannounced, so he shouldn’t be expecting her to traipse in from the kitchen.

 

“What the fuck are you waiting for?” Levi sounds irritated and Eren jumps and yelps. “Are you gonna let me inside or not?”

 

“I – I was just seeing if Mikasa’s around,” Eren stutters. “She’s my older sister by, like, six years, and she’s extremely protective of me. She’s also _super_ judgemental, and I didn’t want her to scare you off.” _Though with your face, I think_ you’d _be the one who would scare her,_ Eren thinks to himself, finally stepping aside to let Levi through.

 

The shorter male enters without any hesitation, standing in the middle of the living room as he takes in his surroundings. He hums to himself, raising a brow in slight satisfaction at the nearly dust-free environment. Huh. Armin is quite adept at cleaning. Well, that _is_ to be expected, considering how much time he spends with Levi. “Hoh …” he says lowly. “Not bad.”

 

Eren breathes a sigh of relief. God, it’s so hard to please this person.

 

“Very nice,” Levi nods to himself as he now admires the design of the place, running his hand along the back of the leather couch. He pulls his hand away and is even more pleased when he doesn’t find a speck of dust on his fingers. “You have nice taste.”

 

“I would thank you,” Eren laughs nervously, “but Kasa’s the one who picked out most everything. But I did help out in some things …”

 

“Did you pick out this couch?” Levi taps his finger against the same piece of furniture again.

 

“Uh …” Eren tilts his head to try and remember. “Yeah. One of the first things I had chosen.”

 

A small smile appears on Levi’s face. So small, in fact, that Eren has to blink to make sure that he didn’t imagine it. The smile, if it even _was_ there in the first place, is gone in a flash, the disinterested expression back on. “So, let’s talk, Jaeger. Where should we sit?”

 

“Um, what about the couch you can’t stop touching?”

 

Levi just realises that his hand is still on the mentioned couch, so he pulls his hand back. How unprofessional of him, to be so smitten by a mere piece of furniture. “All right, then.” He moves to stand in front of the couch, watching as Eren locks the door.

 

Eren blinks at Levi. “Well? Aren’t you gonna sit?”

 

Levi crosses his arms. “I find it rather discourteous to make myself comfortable when the host isn’t even fully in the room yet.”

 

Eren stares, a small flush on his cheeks. Levi is really the gentlemanly type. Eren’s not sure whether he should be surprised. Levi keeps surprising him with different parts of his attitude, some which Eren find slightly contradicting with each other, so should Eren expect to be surprised at this point?

 

He clears his throat. “Oh. Well.” He straightens up and moves towards the couch, gesturing to it awkwardly. “Let’s … uh … sit.” Levi doesn’t move, so Eren takes the initiative to sit first. Only when he relaxes against the cushions does Levi sit, stiff and proper.

 

“Um, you can, you know, relax and all …” Eren trails off. Levi can become uncomfortable from sitting so straight for too long.

 

“Let’s not focus on me,” Levi’s cool gaze falls on Eren, “but on you.” He turns slightly so that he’s facing Eren more, but not too much so his elbow would fall from the armrest of the couch. “We haven’t really finished discussing on what you are and what you aren’t good at –”

 

Eren sighs heavily at this.

 

Levi raises an eyebrow at Eren’s obstinacy. “But I can see that you’re clearly not interested.”

 

That sentence has Eren straightening up and panicking. “Wh-what? No, wait! I’m interested! I am! Please don’t quit from being my tutor! I – I have no one else, and –”

 

Levi holds a hand to stop Eren’s unceasing babble. “Your voice is rising again.” Eren ducks his head and covers his mouth. “And that’s not what I meant. I mean that we should learn more about each other.”

 

Eren widens his eyes in surprise and confusion. “Um … not that I mind, but how does it help with my tutoring?”

 

“It doesn’t,” Levi says bluntly. “Honestly, I don’t want to do this either, but I could already tell your mood went down ever since I suggested, or actually, _demanded_ on coming here.”

 

Eren swallows. Was he really that obvious?

 

“So,” Levi sighs, “why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

 

The look that Eren gives him is as similar as to a deer being caught in headlights. “Wh-wh-wh- _why me_?”

 

Oh Lord. The kid stutters more than he speaks. It’s not like Levi’s going to bite his head out. Though, he doesn’t mind biting that neck of his. It looks nice.

 

Levi sighs again, heavier this time. “All right, _fine_. _I’ll_ start. I was born on Christmas. Shitty holiday, shitty weather, shitty everything, from what I was told by my uncle. I’m twenty. I’m also a Capricorn if you care about that shit.”

 

Eren blinks. “W-wait, if you’re twenty, how come you’re still in Sina High? Shouldn’t you be in Shigashina University or something?”

 

“Held back a couple years,” Levi says casually, as if he doesn’t really care about being held back two years. Maybe he really doesn’t. “And would you really assume I’d go to such a prestigious college like SU? What if I like University of Trost or Maria College more?”

 

“But why?” Eren presses on, ignoring Levi’s comment. “Armin told me you’re really smart. Aren’t you supposed to _skip_ a couple years by now?”

 

Something akin to anger flashes in Levi’s eyes as he regards Eren. “The fuck is it to you, brat?”

 

Eren stiffens and he shakes his head. He averts his eyes and slumps in his seat, staring at the floor. “S-sorry. I was just … asking.”

 

A moment or two pass before Levi sighs, enough for it to make him slump against the couch. “My mother … has always been a sickly woman,” he says quietly, ignoring how Eren perks up at his reply. “We aren’t really that well off either, but my uncle is. He always pays for her hospital bill, and I always have to work for him to pay it off. I never minded, because it was for my mother.”

 

“What about your father?” Eren asks in a soft voice, as if hesitant that Levi would lash out at him again if he asks about his personal life.

 

“Bastard was never there,” Levi growls. “I never knew my dad. Kenny was just as much bastard as he was, but at least he was there for us.” The look in his eyes softens. “The latest hospital bill nearly had my mother going into a heart attack. It was about … six hundred thousand if I’m not wrong.”

 

Eren’s eyes go wide. So wide he swears his eyes can roll out any time.

 

“I had to take a temporary leave from school to help work back the debt. Normally that wouldn’t work with Sina High, but they didn’t want to let me go, because why would they let go of such a prized pupil?”

 

Eren nods slowly. “So you only returned to finish your last year of high school this year?”

 

Levi fixes Eren with an annoyed glare. “What makes you think I’m on my last year?”

 

A cheeky smile blooms on Eren’s face. “What makes you think that I think otherwise?”

 

Levi tsks and rolls his eyes. “You’re such a brat.”

 

Eren only smiles innocently.

 

“Oi. It’s your turn.”

 

Eren adjusts himself on the couch. “Oh right. Um, my birthday’s on the thirtieth of March, so it already obviously passed –”

 

“Happy late birthday, then,” Levi mutters.

 

Eren blinks, looking away to hide the blush on his chee— damn it, how many times is he going to blush in one day? “U-um, thanks.” He clears his throat. “I’m seventeen, and since you told me your zodiac sign, I guess I’ll tell you mine. I’m Aries.”

 

He then gestures at Levi who looks around the living room. Another sigh. “All right. Um … I like …” Levi shrugs, “the colour black.”

 

That pulls a small chuckle from Eren. “I’m not surprised.”

 

He earns a slight shove from Levi. “Brat,” he says, though not without affection. “I like dogs too, ’cause cats make me sneeze.”

 

“That’s a shame,” Eren frowns. “I _love_ cats! I would want one, but Kasa says that we can’t get one now because we’re always away from the house a lot. And she wouldn’t want to come back to a scratch-riddled home.”

 

“Ugh,” Levi snorts. “Now I hate cats even more.”

 

Eren just smiles. “Well, I like blue and green, and, as you already know, I love cats!”

 

“I already heard you the first time.”

 

“Maybe it’s because of your old age that you didn’t hear me the first time,” Eren teases.

 

“I’m pretty sure there’s a law against verbal abuse,” Levi says, a hint of amusement in his tone.

 

“They wouldn’t exist when it comes to midgets.”

 

Levi frowns, one that’s so ugly that it makes Eren’s grin falter. Shoot, did he overstep the line again? “You are a menace to society, you know that?” Levi says. Eren breathes out a sigh of relief. “Where are your parents? Brats like you should be disciplined.”

 

A sad smile forms on Eren’s face and he slumps slightly in his seat. “My parents … aren’t here.”

 

Levi furrows his brows. “What do you mean? Did they go somewhere? Are they coming back?”

 

Eren shrugs. “Well … yes, they _did_ go somewhere. But they’re not coming back.” He looks up and stares straight into Levi’s eyes. “Ever.”

 

Levi understands immediately, but maybe that’s just because of the genius in him. “I see …” he says softly. He stays still for a moment before he inches closer to Eren. He rests a hand on Eren’s and squeezes lightly. “Would you mind telling me? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but it’ll make me feel like we’re getting closer.”

 

Eren blinks before he smiles dryly. “Of course,” he murmurs. “After all, you told me about your mother. It’s only right that I tell you about mine.”

 

Levi’s frown deepens slightly. “That’s not why I want to –”

 

“I know,” Eren interrupts in a soft voice. “But I still feel like I owe you something.”

 

“You don’t, though.”

 

“I know,” Eren says again, this time in a brighter voice. “I was still very young. Okay, not really. I was only thirteen. We were vacationing in Yarckel and were supposed to come back here later that night. There was this big fire that broke out in one of the lodges. No one knows what caused the fire, but I do know that it came from the kitchen.” He clears his throat. “Mikasa was going to graduate from Sina High as the top student of her batch the next day, so she was trying to get as much sleep as possible before the three-hour drive home. Dad rushed me and my mum out when he suddenly remembered about Kasa.”

 

Levi nods slowly.

 

“Dad ran inside and Mum gave me to one of the other vacationers when she followed him. I’m not sure, but I swear I heard Kasa scream from inside.” Eren lets out a deep sigh. “Before I knew it, the fire consumed them. The fire brigade managed to pull them out and they were all rushed to the hospital on time. Kasa received some major third-degree burns, but they healed. She got a major burn wound on her neck, so she keeps it covered with Mum’s old scarf. Mum and Dad, though …”

 

Levi squeezes Eren’s hand again, a stern look on his face. “You don’t have to continue,” he says softly. Even an idiot knows what had happened. “Your parents loved you both very much, seeing as they wasted no time in sacrificing their lives for your sister.”

 

Eren smiles a painful one, though Levi can see the gratitude shining in them. “Yes. They really did. Thank you, Levi.”

 

Levi only nods.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Levi had left after an hour more of staying in the Jaeger household. To break Eren from his painful memories, he had gotten his attention back on track by discussing their future tuition dates. Like Armin had told him, Eren is free on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. So far, all Eren needs help on is Mathematics, unless his grades start slipping in some other subject, so Levi would be tutoring him two hours in all those days – in the morning on Wednesday, in the evening on Friday and in the afternoon on Saturday.

 

In all honesty, Levi’s a bit nervous. He had never tutored anyone, and he had berated himself all night after accepting Armin’s offer to tutor his friend. What if he did it wrongly and Eren’s grades become even worse? Well, there’s a first for everything. But Armin should have warned Levi on how attractive his student is. Those eyes of his look like they hold the ocean, and if Levi’s not careful, he might see the ocean spill.

 

In addition to the future tuition sessions, Levi learned a bit more about Eren’s family, or more specifically, his sister. Mikasa doesn’t seem like much, but from how Eren’s described her, she seems like someone who Levi should be careful about in the future. She’s not in Shiganshina at the moment, having flown to Stohess for her internship. She had always wanted to be a doctor, having been inspired by their father. Her want to be a doctor grew when it was the lack of medical personnel that aided in the deaths of their parents. She’s very admirable.

 

Levi sometimes wishes he has a sibling to protect, someone who would look up to him, but then he remembers how much of a devil his uncle is, so he’s glad he’s an only child. A shadow lingering in the alley he’s passing by catches his attention and he stops and glares at it. Speaking of the bastard …

 

“Hey, Shorty,” Kenny snorts as he twirls the knife in his hand. “Never seen you in Shiganshina before. What brings ya here?”

 

Levi’s brows crease a tiny bit. What the hell is Kenny doing here? Last he saw of the old bastard was when he finally finished paying off the debt from his mother’s hospital bill. Kenny had then whisked off to Mitras, the highly political government district, for a job, and the months that followed were pure bliss.

 

He folds his arms and leans against the wall opposite his uncle. “I could ask you the same question.”

 

“I was stationed here from Mitras. I’ll be here all month.” Kenny’s smile widens at the almost unnoticeable twitch in Levi’s right eye. “Get that stick out of your ass, ah? It wasn’t like I wanted to come here anyway. City’s all peaceful and shit. Boring as hell.” He flicks the knife in the air and catches the sharp tip of it when it plummets down.

 

Until to an extent, Levi had always admired how Kenny is so formidable with knives. He could watch his knife tricks all day. Kenny pulls the brim of his fedora down and fixes Levi with a calculating look. “Now _you_ , though, you’re not supposed to be here, considering ya live in the town next to this one.”

 

Levi frowns. How the hell did Kenny know that? He left just before he and his mother moved to Utopia District. “I just came from visiting a friend.” There’s no point in lying to Kenny. Kenny would always find out anyway. And Kenny never really cared about his friends, not after that meeting with Erwin and Hange, so he always leaves Levi to his own devices.

 

Like Levi had predicted, Kenny’s crooked mouth twists to a scowl. “Ugh. You have friends all the way here?”

 

Levi shrugs. “He’s a new friend. I’m supposed to be tutoring him.”

 

Kenny throws his head back and laughs. He pockets his knife and stalks forward, grabbing Levi in a chokehold and ruffles his hair roughly. Levi growls and tries to shove him off, but Kenny stays. “Yeah! Put those Ackerman brains of yours to good use! Show him how smart the Ackermans are!”

 

Levi finally frees himself, arranging his hair back to its neat style. “If I was smart, then I would have never worked for you.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Kenny laughs obnoxiously. “Hitch loved your midget ass! Misses working with a runt like ya! And besides, Kuchel’s a whole lot better now, isn’t she?”

 

Levi chooses not to answer. Kenny’s right, he always fucking is, but he’ll never admit to that.

 

“Isn’t your curfew coming up, Shorty?”

 

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Levi flashes Kenny a look of venom. “I’m fucking twenty. I have no fucking curfew.”

 

“Oi, oi, oi, no cursing,” Kenny scolds, though he sounds far too amused to be actually upset. “There are more kids here in Shiganshina than there is the Underground. What kind of an example are you setting for them?”

 

“I’m no example,” Levi grits out. He pushes himself off the wall. “I’m leaving.”

 

“Heading back home, midget?” Kenny hollers, his voice so loud that it actually echoes.

 

Levi doesn’t answer and continues to walk, hands shoved in his pockets and his head ducked.

 

“Make sure Kuchel takes her medicine, will ya? Ya know she forgets!”

 

At the mention of his mother, Levi’s face softens slightly. She is the light of his world. How could he not remind her? He just wants her healthy and happy, and he’ll do anything in his power to make sure that happens.

 

  

* * *

 

 

Eren isn’t sure how he managed it, but he had gotten Levi’s number. Okay, okay, Levi gave it to him just before he left, stating that they need each other’s numbers to confirm tuition sessions. Right now, he’s lying stomach down on his bed, staring at his contact in his phone. He sighs and buries his face into his pillow, tossing his phone somewhere on the bed.

 

Levi is … Levi is very kind. While intimidating at first (okay, maybe even after), Levi is really … a kind person. Eren would have never told anyone else the story of his parents until they’re at least in the ‘Friends’ status, but Levi had barely reached ‘Acquaintance’ and Eren had just let it spill. He’s not even mad. He’s actually kind of … _relieved_ he told Levi.

 

His phone begins to ring, pulling him from his train of thought. He gropes blindly for his phone and pulls his face free from the pillow, a rare picture of his sister smiling flashing on the screen. Eren slides his thumb across the screen and rolls over on his back. “Hey.”

 

 _“Hi, Eren.”_ Mikasa has always been soft-spoken, but she sounds more tired than usual. _“How are you?”_

 

Eren shrugs, despite knowing that Mikasa can’t see him. “I’ve been good. How’s the internship thing going?”

 

 _“I’m worked down to my bone,”_ Mikasa sighs. _“Just one more month then I’ll be flying back to Shiganshina. I met someone too. Um … her name’s Annie.”_

 

“Oh.” Eren blinks once. Mikasa’s voice had changed when she said that, low and … almost shy? It hits Eren a second later and a wide grin breaks out on his face. “ _OHHHHH_! Well, congratulations! About time, Mikasa! I never knew you were gay! Guess you turning down all those guys all those years makes sense now.”

 

Mikasa chuckles. _“I just … realised it recently, after I landed here. She’s gonna come with me, too, before going back to Karanese for a bit. So you get to meet her.”_

 

Eren nods twice. “Okay, cool.” He’s really interested in the person who’s finally managed to capture his sister’s well-fortified heart. “Oh yeah! I finally got a tutor. One of Armin’s friends.”

 

 _“That’s great, Eren.”_ Though she sounds tired, Eren can hear the smile in her voice. _“How are they?”_

 

Eren shrugs again. “He’s really scary. Well, at first. Then he became really nice. He’s really smart as well. Makes me feel like an idiot just by talking to him.”

 

_“Scary, huh? Do I need to run a background check on him?”_

 

“No, Mikasa!” Eren laughs. “You’re gonna scare him away! Then I’ll have no one to tutor me!”

 

 _“I’m kidding, Eren,”_ Mikasa chuckles. She sighs after a moment or so. _“I really miss you, you know.”_

 

Eren’s shoulders droop. “I miss you too. It’s really lonely here without you.”

 

_“You’re doing well, right? Taking care of yourself? Eating your meals on time? Doing your daily exercise? Taking your suppleme—”_

 

“I’m not a baby, Mikasa, I do all those stuff already! Even when you were still here!” Eren frowns. “It’s just …” he looks around his room, “the place is much bigger when you’re the only one here.”

 

_“Oh, Eren …”_

 

“I don’t really know what to do with Mum’s and Dad’s room,” he says quietly. “I don’t wanna move out to a dorm either. I don’t even think I wanna sell the place.”

 

 _“But we have to, Eren,”_ Mikasa says in a voice just as soft. _“When we both have jobs and we move out of Shiganshina, we’re going to have to.”_

 

“But I don’t _want_ to,” Eren repeats in a pathetic voice, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes. “This place is home. … Mum and Dad were home.”

 

 _“Eren …”_ Oh no, Mikasa sounds like she’s going to cry. Eren didn’t mean to.

 

“Don’t cry,” Eren sits up properly and grips his phone with both of his hands. “Please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. You have to continue with your internship. You’re Mikasa Jaeger, you’re not _supposed_ to cry.”

 

 _“Eren, you idiot,”_ Mikasa sobs, though Eren can hear the laughter. Eren heaves a sigh of relief. _“I love you so much.”_

 

Eren softens. “I love you too, Kasa. A whole lot more than you ever love me.”

 

 _“That’s a lie and you know it.”_ Eren suddenly hears a whooshing sound, straining his ears as he hears the faint voice of someone on the other end of the line. _“Oh, I gotta head in now. Annie says we have an early shift tomorrow.”_

 

Eren cocks a brow at the clock. It’s barely five in the afternoon. Maybe Mikasa’s taking the night shift now. “You’re sleeping with Annie?” He realises what he said a moment later, and his face flares up. “Wait, that’s not what I mean! I mean –”

 

 _“I know what you mean, Eren,”_ Mikasa laughs. _“No, we’re just roomies. Those who aren’t native to Stohess are given dorms until our internship ends.”_

 

“Well, okay then. At least you got your housing priorities down.” Honestly, it’s been nearly half a year and Mikasa’s internship will end in a month. How did Eren not know of Mikasa dorming situation yet? “I wouldn’t mind if you actually _did_ sleep with her, you know.”

 

 _“You heathen,”_ Mikasa says softly. _“Take care of yourself, Eren. I love you.”_

 

“Love you too.” When Mikasa hangs up, Eren sighs and stares at the floor. He looks around his room once more and stands up, shuffling to his parents’ room. The knob looks so impending, and Eren has to snap himself from staring at it for too long. He turns the handle and opens the door.

 

The bed is impeccably made, as what Eren’s expecting, though there’s a fine layer of dust covering the sheets. In fact, there’s dust everywhere. Eren stays where he is, unable to have the willpower to enter. His eyes glaze over the picture frames of the family, some when they’re vacationing, some of just his parents, and some of him and Mikasa. There’s even one of him and Mikasa putting on a fashion show using their father’s old neckties and their mother’s shirts.

 

Eren wants to laugh at the fond memories, but all that comes out is a choked sob. He collapses onto the floor and presses the heels of his hands against his eyes as cries burst from his body.

 

It’s so lonely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Eren.
> 
> Even though this is still based in the SnK world (well, the locations are, at least), the education system follows the US. But, I don’t know anything about the education system there, since I don’t live in the US. Everything I have taken is from Wikipedia.


	3. Phone Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise. I was supposed to update this yesterday (Sunday), but my parents flew here to visit and they kept dragging me and my sister out all the time so I was only able to finish a day later. I’m trying to update every Sunday. It’s like a fanfic resolution I gave myself this year.

“I’m back,” Levi says flatly as he steps into his house and closes the door behind him. Almost immediately, Kuchel hurries out of the kitchen with a smile and pulls him into a hug. Levi sighs but accepts the affectionate gesture. He doesn’t do anything to hug her back, though, because while he loves his mother dearly, she’ll smother him even more if he reciprocates.

 

Kuchel finally pulls away and smiles fondly at her son. She pats his cheek and strokes it lovingly. Dear Lord, she always treats his return home like they’re in a film or something else that’s dramatic. “Welcome back, dear. How was your day?”

 

Levi shrugs and Kuchel straightens up, folding her hands neatly in front of her. She’s always so prim and proper, despite her previous profession. “It was all right,” he mutters, not bothering to raise his voice. He knows she can hear him. “Met the kid I was gonna tutor.”

 

Kuchel brightens up. “Oh! How were they? What were their names?”

 

Levi shrugs again. “He was pretty nervous around me. It was like he was waiting for my judgement or something for every little thing he did. His name’s Eren Jaeger. Sound familiar?”

 

As a former … _adult worker_ , Kuchel had always been privy to information about people in the Underground, regardless whether she knows the person or not. Levi’s unsure whether she still has that ability, as they had only recently moved to Utopia District.

 

Kuchel hums to herself before making a sound of exclamation. “Oh! I know the Jaegers!”

 

Levi’s brows raise in surprise. “You _know_ them?”

 

“Yes,” Kuchel smiles sadly. “Well, knew them, is more like it. We didn’t see each other much, but they were very friendly. Lovely people, too. I first met Grisha and Carla when I was out shopping in Shiganshina, to get a feel of the nearby neighbourhoods.” She sighs. “It’s just a shame that they died in that fire,” she says quietly.

 

Levi says nothing.

 

Kuchel is silent for a few moments before smiling brightly again. “Ah! Well, I’m guessing this ‘Eren Jaeger’ is their son?” At Levi’s nod, she coos happily. “I’ve always wanted to meet him, especially after Carla told me about him. When are you bringing him over?”

 

Levi’s face darkens immediately. “Never. You know how I don’t bring strangers here. They’d only dirty the place which I try so hard to keep clean.”

 

“Which _we_ try so hard to keep clean,” Kuchel emphasises. “After all, you got that trait from me.”

 

Levi rolls his eyes. “ _Anyone_ who lived in the Underground would get that trait, regardless hereditary or not.”

 

Kuchel tsks, though there’s a smile on her face. “Cheeky boy. Go rest up.” She pats him on the cheek. “Dinner will be ready in about one and a half hours, so take a nap or something. You must’ve been tired travelling from Shiganshina.”

 

“It only takes twenty minutes by bus,” Levi raises a brow.

 

“And look how grumpy you are!” Kuchel chuckles. “Go on, go to your room. Don’t you dare disturb me.”

 

“Unless I plan to die early.” Kuchel flashes him one last smile before turning to head back to the kitchen. Levi’s about to turn the opposite direction to go to his room before a sudden thought gets to him. “Hey, Mum?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“… When did Kenny arrive?”

 

Kuchel becomes so silent that Levi’s almost convinced that she had bolted from the house to avoid answering the question. She definitely won’t do that, but she’s very skilled in avoiding the topic of Kenny whenever Levi brings him up. She knows of his animosity towards her brother, so she always keeps quiet about it.

 

She hesitantly steps out of the kitchen, wringing her apron tightly in her hands. “… When did you see him?” she asks quietly. “How did you know he’s here?”

 

Levi wants to do something, play with his hands, chew on his bottom lip, scuff the floor with his shoes – okay, no, Kuchel would most probably have his ass for that, but anything to dispel the tension. “Saw him in Shiganshina after I left Eren’s house.”

 

Kuchel takes a deep breath. “A week ago. He said he was tired of living in hotels because everyone’s treating him as royalty, saying something about it being boring because he had nothing fun to do. He came in here just this morning, around ten minutes after you left, and left immediately. He won’t be coming back until midnight.”

 

A miniscule sigh escapes Levi. Great. He won’t have to deal with Kenny for another seven hours.

 

“So his hotel’s in Shiganshina?”

 

Kuchel nods once. So Kenny _is_ stationed in Shiganshina. The higher ups in Mitras probably had no idea that he left to stay in the Utopia. Well, they probably might in a few hours, when the hotel staff informs them. “He’ll be out of the house more often than in.”

 

“Thank fuck.”

 

“Levi,” Kuchel frowns, though Levi knows that she’s not necessarily upset by his language.

 

“I’ll be in my room,” Levi gives his mother a chaste kiss on the cheek.

 

He’s gone before Kuchel can even say a word. She tsks and shakes her head with a smile before disappearing back into the kitchen.

 

 

* * *

 

 

After mulling over it a long time after Levi had left, Eren decides to text Armin. He can’t stand the loneliness anymore. He was doing just fine before he brought Levi here. The walls seemed smaller when Levi was present, but they expanded so much more when he left. Without the presence of another person, Eren hadn’t noticed how empty his house is.

 

To: Armin  
From: Eren  
Time sent: 18:41pm  
Message: hey. im rly lonly. cn u cme over? bring takeout.

 

In all honesty, he really shouldn’t expect Armin to be able to just drop everything and visit him. He has too many subjects to worry about, and add the responsibility of being Student Vice-President of the Science Department. And even if he’s (miraculously) free from either one, he’ll usually be in the library, and it’ll be hard as all hell to drag him away from his haven.

 

So it comes to his utmost surprise when Armin texts back.

 

To: Eren  
From: Armin  
Time sent: 18:43  
Message: Sure. I’ll be there in 15. How does Mac’s sound?

 

Eren really, really loves Armin.

 

To distract himself before Armin’s arrival, Eren paces. In the past, it was a way to help him calm down whenever he’s face with a stressful situation, or if someone had royally pissed him off. He stopped doing it following the death of his parents, too grieved to even think about pacing. But as time passes, he managed to get over it and picked up his old habit. Now he does it whenever he feels jittery or the likes.

 

Three knocks on the door is all that it takes for Eren to practically spring to the door. He pulls it open and grins at Armin smiling and holding two bags of takeout. He’s still in the damned lab coat, too. Eren’s face falls slightly at this.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I pull you from somewhere important?”

 

Armin hikes his shoulder bag higher and shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. I was just helping Jean with his project. It’s still due in three weeks, so he can wait for a bit.”

 

Eren relaxes at this. “Oh good. Tell him I miss hanging out with him.”

 

Armin chuckles and steps inside, watching Eren close the door. “You know the world’s coming to an end when Eren Jaeger says he misses Jean Kirstein.”

 

Eren flushes slightly but he still laughs. He gestures Armin to follow him to his room. “While I want to refute that sentence, it’s kinda true. When’s the last time I saw him?”

 

“Last month,” Armin says worriedly. “He’s been asking about you, wanted to know how you’ve been doing.”

 

Eren stops walked and turns around to face Armin, his brows furrow in confusion. “Why’s he asking now?”

 

Armin shrugs. “Oh, you know. Doesn’t want people to know that he cares about the person he constantly fights with.”

 

Eren blinks then smiles and shakes his head. “I’m fine. Seriously.” He turns back around and continues heading for his room. “Just … a bit lonely. That’s all.”

 

“Why?” Armin asks quietly. As far as he knows, Eren stopped feeling lonely a month after Mikasa left for her internship. He seemed rather fine for the rest of the months that follow. Sure, it was a bit weird that Eren never let anyone besides Armin into his house, compared to before where he would constantly invite people over. So why’s he feeling this way again? Why now?

 

Eren doesn’t reply. They reach his room and Eren closes the door behind him. Armin sets the bags of takeout onto the messy desk (how long has he not been visiting for the desk to get this cluttered?) and rests his bag against the side of it. He also removes his lab coat, just noticing how hot it is in here. He faces Eren and folds his arms expectantly.

 

“I went to Mum’s and Dad’s room,” Eren says quietly, “a couple of hours ago.”

 

Armin drops his arms and a sad look crosses his face. “Why?” he asks again. “You know you get triggered.”

 

“I didn’t get triggered this time; I just cried.” Well, that’s a rare occurrence. It’s better than seeing fear, pain and regret swirling in those emerald eyes of his. “I just … I don’t know. I brought Levi here because he wanted to tutor me here.” He ignores Armin’s raised brow. “Kasa called after he left. And the feeling of loneliness was just so strong.”

 

A small smile forms on Armin’s face. “I see. You haven’t brought another person here ever since Mikasa left. So you were used to seeing the house in one perspective. And then another person, a _stranger_ , no less, comes in and it shifts your perspective. The house is smaller now, another presence chasing away the shadows. And then that person leaves, and your initial perspective gets warped and you realise how large the house actually is.”

 

Eren smiles sadly. “You know, you should really be in Psychology.”

 

“I’m not really fond of prying open unwilling people’s minds.” His smile turns the slightest bit cheeky. “Only yours.”

 

“Some best friend you are,” Eren scoffs playfully. When was the last time Armin came over? Wait, rephrasing the question. When was the last time Armin pulled himself out of his studies to pay attention to Eren? Not that Eren holds it against him, but sometimes he wishes that Armin would push his books away and talk to him every once in a while.

 

“Okay then, Princess,” Armin chuckles, turning to the bags. “I couldn’t decide what you would choose, so I got you both large fries and some nuggets.”

 

Eren’s grin widens at the prospect of food. “Armin, you’re the best.”

 

“I know I am.”

 

  

* * *

 

 

Levi stays unmoving on his bed, staring at the ceiling of his room. He had only realised it when he’s in the confines of his room, but Eren’s voice is … somewhat familiar. But he knows that it’s his first time meeting Eren. He’d never forget a pretty face like that. When his voice is soft, it’s nothing really special (but it _does_ sound pretty fuckin’ nice), but when he gradually gets louder …

 

Now Levi _knows_ he’s heard of it somewhere.

 

But where exactly?

 

His phone vibrates in his pocket and Levi, without moving his gaze, reaches into his jeans and pulls it out. He slides his thumb across the screen to answer the call and holds it against his ear. “Hello?”

 

_“LEEEEEEEEEVIIIIIIIIII!”_

 

Levi grimaces and sighs. He pulls his phone away from his ear to look at the caller ID, and, yup, it’s definitely Hange. He really should start looking at his screen before accepting calls. “Yes, what do you want?”

 

 _“How was your tutee?”_ He can imagine her grinning brightly. _“Were they cute? I bet they were cute. You make everyone look cute, what with your face that serial killers take after. Are they male or female? Are they older than you? I really doubt it, you who stayed back.”_

 

Levi can feel his vein throb. “What the fuck do you want, you dolt?”

 

The response is instantaneous. _“Heeeeeeeey, I’m no dolt! That’s mean, you mean old grouch. No wonder you’re still single.”_

 

Levi sighs again. “My single status isn’t based on my ‘meanness’. It’s because I _choose_ to be single.”

 

_“Right, and that’s why when you’ve been asked to prom for the first and only time in your life, you gave the poor girl such a death glare that it caused the school population’s inevitable isolation from you.”_

 

Levi tries not to throw his phone against the wall. Kenny wouldn’t be too proud that he wasted his money on something which Levi had broken easily, and would make him work for it again. “Why the hell did you call, Hange?”

 

 _“We miss you, Mr Detainee-in-High-School,”_ Hange whines. _“We haven’t seen you in_ ages _.”_

 

“We literally went out for coffee just yesterday.”

 

 _“And that’s far too long!”_ Hange moans. _“It’s hard for us workers to hang out with high school babies.”_

 

A frown forms on Levi’s face. “Fuck you,” he spits. He knows that Hange and Erwin are much older than him, already fully-fledged adults and working in Utopia (it’s a miracle how they managed to become friends in the first place), but it still hurts to hear two of his only friends calling him a child.

 

Long story short, Hange accidentally spilled water on Levi’s shirt (or she deliberately yanked Levi’s shirt open and dumped ice cold water down his front torso) and, as an apology, she took him out for dinner (and made Levi pay for everything) and introduced him to her before-turned-boyfriend colleague Erwin. From then on, she and Erwin became like leeches.

 

Or, Hange, specifically. Erwin’s more like the pain when you stub your toe – doesn’t happen often, but very annoying when it _does_ happen.

 

A shuffle, followed by Hange’s faint but obvious squawk, and then a deep exasperated chuckle. _“I’m really sorry about Hange,”_ Erwin apologises. _“She’s just very bored.”_

 

“Yeah, no kidding,” Levi mutters. “Erwin, I need to speak with you.”

 

Whenever Levi specifically says that sentence, or anything else similar, it means that he wants to speak with Erwin in private. That means he either needs to get to a secluded area or tell everyone in the room to get the fuck out. Unless it’s Hange, Erwin isn’t the type to do the latter, so Levi’s (im)patience would have usually just reached its tipping point by the time Erwin’s alone.

 

 _“Hange, can you go get me some water?”_ Levi hears Erwin say. _“My throat’s getting a bit dry.”_

 

Levi hears Hange coo out an _of course, sweetie!_ and he tries not to gag.

 

 _“Okay,”_ Erwin says softly a few moments later. _“She’s gone. I locked the door, but knowing her, she could pick her way in. We don’t have much time. What is it?”_

 

“The kid I’m tutoring,” Levi says immediately. “His name is Eren.”

 

Thank fuck for Erwin’s sharp deduction. _“And you think this Eren is the one from that night? You weren’t able to see him, though, right?”_

 

Levi sits up and runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah. But it probably is him. I’m not really sure, but he sounds similar. His voice gets more high-pitched when he gets nervous. I’m certain that’s what the kid sounds like.” He groans and drops his head into his hand. “Fuck, Erwin. What do I do?”

 

_“Play it cool. If Eren doesn’t know, he would continue trusting you. If he does, well, you’d better get away from him quick lest he calls for help from Mitras. And you certainly don’t want any run-ins with the police.”_

 

“No, of course not. So what, I just pretend I don’t know anything? Fuck, Erwin, the kid was in pain that night! If it _was_ Eren, then –”

 

 _“Then you_ definitely _have to be on the down low,”_ Erwin interrupts. _“I don’t want to see you in jail, Levi. Or worse, dead. If the police catch you, then worst case scenario, you are going to die. The police in Mitras won’t do well with people like you.”_

 

“I feel so scared, Erwin,” Levi nearly whispers. “I never do, but it’s Eren. I’m scared it’s Eren.”

 

 _“It_ could _be Eren,”_ Erwin corrects delicately. _“It could be someone else for all we know.”_

 

“No way in all hell,” Levi denies instantly. “I _know_ it’s Eren. I just … I feel it.”

 

 _“Then all the more reason for you to not act suspicious around Eren. Knowing your expressionless face, though, that wouldn’t be too hard for you,”_ Erwin chuckles.

 

Levi cracks a minute smile. “Yeah. Okay, I’ll try my best to see if it’s Eren.” His smile drops. “I hope not. Say bye to Hange for me.” He hangs up before Erwin can even respond. He collapses back on the bed and rests an arm over his eyes.

 

If the kid from that time two nights ago really _was_ Eren, then Levi is in deep trouble.

 

He turns over to his side and buries his face into his pillow when he hears Kuchel calling for him. “Ugh, what a mess.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“So what’s Levi like?”

 

Eren snorts and nearly inhales his burger. “Different. Very different from what you’ve told me.”

 

Armin pulls out a pickle and tosses it onto the waiting serviette on the desk. “How so?”

 

“I thought he’d be super smart or something. Like, sound like a condescending asshat and make me feel stupid all the time.”

 

“I never said he was like that.”

 

“Yeah, but you made him _sound_ like it,” Eren points out. He stuffs a handful of fries into his mouth, Armin grimacing at his action. “He could have torn out my skin and wear it as – as – as a turban or something.”

 

“I don’t even think that’s possible.”

 

Eren smiles into his burger, remembering how nice Levi had been despite them being practically strangers. “But, he’s really nice, you know? Cared about me when I told him of my parents’ deaths …”

 

Armin smiles. “He’s a really nice person, Eren. I just want you to be a bit wary of him.”

 

Eren shoots Armin a look. “You say that about everyone.”

 

“That’s because you _should_ be a bit wary of everyone,” Armin steals one of Eren’s nuggets. “You’re so trustworthy. The moment anyone smiles and greets you, you trust them instantly. I’m just glad that, though this doesn’t really have to do anything with trusting a person, you seemed a bit cautious when I mentioned Levi’s gender.”

 

Eren hitches in a breath and quickly disguises it as a small sigh. Shoot. He was too damn obvious again. Well, either that or Armin has fucking eyes everywhere on his body. It’s not that Eren is finally taking Armin’s advice on living – _God_ no. Armin, while smart, is the safest kid on the entire planet. Eren would have little to no fun if he ever took Armin’s life advice. He even makes skateboarding seem like a chore.

 

No, it’s because that damn _bastard_ who fucking _stole_ Eren’s virginity from him was a guy. Unless girls can manage to have a chest as flat as a blackboard and a really convincing strap-on which can store semen, then it is definitely, one hundred percent, a guy.

 

But never in all hell or heaven (or both) will Eren ever admit that to anyone. Not to Armin, not to Jean, not to Mikasa, _no one_. He’d rather keep this traumatic experience to himself than make anyone else worry. They don’t deserve to know all the bad things in Eren’s life. It’s _Eren’s_ life, it’s _his_ problem. All he needs to do is act as happy as he always is and no one would be the wiser.

 

What’s more, if Eren makes a big fuss about this, people would view this as him desperately calling for attention. He has a sad life – his parents died, he and Mikasa are orphans, he used to have violent tendencies … Eren’s lived in the same place his entire life. If the same people heard that he got raped, and in _Shiganshina_ , the Safest Place in the World, they won’t believe him. They’d call him out for crying wolf and he’d be the subject of their judgemental gazes again. Eren’s been through that one too many times – he doesn’t need a repeat.

 

No. Eren needs to keep this to himself. Even if he gets raped again, he is not going to tell a soul.

 

Eren forces a bitter smile on his face. He can only hope that Armin wouldn’t notice. (Who’s he kidding? Armin definitely would.) “Yeah. You really taught me a lot of useful stuff, buddy!”

 

Armin eyes Eren’s face critically. “Eren –”

 

“Wanna go play after we eat? I’ll kick your ass _Mortal Kombat_ style.”

 

Armin frowns slightly. “Eren.”

 

“You know what? I’ll go set the game up now,” Eren puts his food down on top of the takeout bag and hurriedly stands up. “That way, we can play immediately after we’re done eating –”

 

“Eren.” Armin grabs Eren’s wrist. “Are you okay?”

 

“Mm-hmm!” Eren answers immediately, his grin bright and definitely forced.

 

Armin narrows his eyes. “ _Eren_ –”

 

“I have a lot of things to do, Armin,” Eren interrupts, a small frown on his face. “Would you rather we waste our time playing or us just standing here?”

 

Eren has a point. If there’s one thing that Armin has learned from being close with Eren is that the boy is insanely stubborn. Try as he may, he can never get Eren to admit whatever’s on his mind on the same day. He always has to wait for weeks for Eren to confess to him. Days, if he’s lucky.

 

So he just sighs. “All right, all right. Go set up the damn game.”

 

A look of genuine relief flutters on Eren’s face and he rushes out of the room. “Dibs on Kitanaaaaa!”

 

“You always choose her!” Armin yells after Eren. “Choose someone else once in your life!”

 

“Never! She always helps me kick your ass!”

 

A half-smile forms on Armin’s face before it easily fades away. He sighs and stares at the doorway Eren had disappeared through.

 

_What’s wrong, Eren?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, but writing Mikasa as ‘Mikasa Jaeger’ is fucking weird.
> 
> Ugh, trying to break away from stereotypes is hard. I really tried not to make Hange as eccentric as she is in the anime, or the cliché of Jean and Eren hating each other but actually being good friends. Or Levi being a clean freak. UGH, ONE DAY. ONE DAY THESE WILL BE ABSENT.
> 
> I like making Levi as a mama’s boy. Just a heads up, in future fics, I’m gonna make Levi a mama’s boy. It’s about time someone else besides Eren (or Mikasa, if she’s written as Levi’s sister or cousin) gets love from Ravioli Ackerman.
> 
> Well, someone found me on Tumblr. I’m not mad, just really surprised. That person was under the assumption that I have Tumblr. And, well, they were right. I’ve been using the same username for about three years now (it’s jukukira, if that wasn’t obvious) because that’s the only username which I actually spent twenty minutes coming up with. Follow me if you wanna. I reblog some OTP shit and even more useless shit.


	4. Tutoring Session Gone Bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just plain Riren. No one else.
> 
> … Okay, maybe Erwin, BUT THAT’S IT.
> 
> This is also pretty heavy, so take caution.

Okay, so Eren’s had a pretty good night. He managed to hang out with Jean for a couple of hours (which involved a lot of almost-fighting and Armin becoming torn from pulling away either one of the two boys whenever things got too heated), got (read: forced) more details about this Annie person from Mikasa (all he learned was that her eyes are ‘as blue as the calmest lake’; he gagged and earned a day of extra chores when Mikasa returns), and had beaten his previous high score on _Candy Crush_ before he knocked out.

 

The last one deserves a crowning achievement, Eren swears.

 

What _isn’t_ so good is the fact that it’s Wednesday, which is one of the days of the week when Levi is going to tutor him in his house. Which is going to happen later. Soon. Now.

 

“All right,” Levi pushes his glasses up and skims through Eren’s (admittedly heavy) Mathematics textbook. “So what are you having problems with?”

 

“The damn chocolates,” Eren grumbles, slumped against his coffee table (no way in all hell is he going to let Levi one foot near his messy room) and chin resting on his barely-legible handwritten notes. He groans when he can’t see any combination near the chocolates, so he swipes a yellow sweet with a red one somewhere near the corner. His groan goes louder when the chocolate multiplies. “No matter how much I destroy them, they just keep popping up!”

 

Levi flicks his forehead without looking up from the book. “Focus.”

 

Eren quits the game and chuckles, though it sounds really pitiful in Levi’s ears. “I can’t. I really can’t.”

 

Finally tearing his gaze from the book, Levi frowns. “Why not?”

 

Eren stays silent for a few moments, before sighing and pushing his phone away. He folds his arms on the table and rests his chin on them. “I … have a bit of a memory problem. It’s not really that big, and lots of people have it too. I’m pretty bad at memorising things, and I forget things really easily.” He slumps further into his arms, if that’s even possible. “Traumatising experiences seem to worsen it, like when my parents died, and after I got ra—”

 

Eren hitches in a breath, eyes wide. He almost let it slip to his tutor that he was forced to have sex against his will. He carefully swallows and looks up, Levi staring down curiously at him.

 

“… Yes?” Levi says slowly. “After you got …?”

 

Eren swallows again. “… ipped off. Ripped off at this sale.”

 

Levi looks even more confused. “You got traumatised from something like _that_?”

 

“It was a big thing, okay?” Eren exclaims hotly. “They were selling this wicked printed graphic tees and were three for the price of one, and then one of those snooty employees said that the sale only applied to women’s shirts, which is totally fucking bullshit, okay? They weren’t specific about it, they didn’t even put it on the fucking sign! How else was I supposed to think?”

 

Well, technically, Eren isn’t lying. He really felt the injustice from that stupid ‘sale’. In the end, Eren talked with the manager, threatened to kick his face in (he actually was about to demonstrate it if it weren’t for the kiss-ass employee, who stood in front of the manager like they were in some drama) and managed to only get two of the damn shirts for half off.

 

Never going back there again.

 

Levi stares at Eren thoughtfully before sighing and removing his glasses. He folds them and places them carefully on the coffee table before turning to face Eren. “Eren, what’s your _raison d’être_?”

 

“What the hell is that?”

 

Levi levels Eren with a look. “I thought you said that you, and I quote, ‘were pretty good in English’.”

 

Eren furrows his brows in both confusion and annoyance. “Yeah. _English_. Emphasis on the language. Which I speak.”

 

“I’m very well aware on what language you speak. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m responding in that same language.” Eren smiles slightly and Levi feels a sort of elation at seeing that little curve. “Anyway, that phrase is one of those foreign languages which you can use in English, like _coup d’état_ and _façade_.”

 

“But I was never good in Spanish.”

 

“It’s French.”

 

“Whatever,” Eren rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. “I know big words, like ‘obstinate’ and ‘countenance’ … and even ‘cacophony’ –”

 

“That’s not what being good in English generally means.”

 

“So!” Eren interrupts. “What’s ‘raisin detergent’?”

 

“ _Raison d’être_ ,” Levi emphasises with a slow roll of his eyes. “It means your justification in existing.”

 

The question catches Eren off-guard and it shows. His already big eyes go even wider and his mouth goes slack. “O-oh …” He looks down at his jacket sleeve and picks at the thread there. “Wow … that’s, uh …” He looks at Levi and and smiles weakly at him. “That’s a pretty heavy topic. I mean … that’s philosophical level or something.”

 

“Want me to do it again?” Levi offers gently. “I’ll tell you mine and you can tell me yours, _if_ you even have one?”

 

Levi doesn’t mean the last sentence as offensive, and Eren understands that. He’s actually really grateful that Levi picked up his hesitance as not having a full answer yet. How does anyone have a perfect answer for that? Their reasons all vary, and they change from time to time. People are put on Earth for one purpose, and no one is fully sure of that reason.

 

Eren brings his knees to his chin and wraps his arms around them. He smiles a tiny one at Levi, despite his mouth not seen that fully. “Yes, please,” he says quietly.

 

“At first it was just because I thought I was here to help support my mother,” Levi says in a soft voice. “We both know how stupid that is, considering how Kenny’s the one who dealt with all our financial needs. If it weren’t for him, we’d still be in The Underground.”

 

Eren’s eyes go wide and his mouth drops open. “The Underground?” he nearly whispers. “You mean … th-the City of Poverty? Is that where you came from?”

 

A small frown forms on Levi’s face when he realises that he never actually told Eren about his pitiful past. “… Yes,” he says slowly. “But that’s not the point right now. I’ll save that story for another time.”

 

Eren frowns in dissatisfaction, looking more like a disgruntled puppy than anything.

 

“If it weren’t for Kenny, we’d still be staying there,” Levi crosses his arms. He doesn’t like to admit how Kenny had saved him and his mother, but it’s the truth and he can’t do anything about it. “Mum was very grateful to her brother, but who wouldn’t? He pulled us out of poverty.”

 

“So …” Eren clears his throat. “What’s your ‘arson deterrent’?”

 

Levi cracks a small smile at Eren’s inability to properly pronounce the phrase, but he lets it go. It’s endearing how he mispronounces it, and bonus points to him for getting closer to the actual pronunciation. “Now? Now I’m not sure. I mean, I haven’t been sure for a while. But I do know this.”

 

Eren straightens his back a little, his head peeking out more from his knees. “What?”

 

Levi suddenly leans forward and Eren, out of instinct, leans back hurriedly, his eyes wide. The sudden proximity of Levi has his breath starting to quicken, and the memories of that damned night three days ago is rushing rushing _rushing_ to his head –

 

“Currently, I am right here, right now … to help a certain cute brat improve on his grades.”

 

The memories stop. Actually, they fade away completely. All that fills his head are those words that swirl together until they repeat again and again. Eren can only stare wide-eyed at Levi, his heart pounding for a different reason. Levi’s gaze on him is both warm and cool at the same time, and it sends an odd feeling of fire and calm blending together. And Eren’s okay with that.

 

And Eren’s not okay with being okay with that.

 

Levi reaches out and gently rests a hand on Eren’s head, a smile on his face. “Now that that’s out of the way,” he speaks, breaking Eren’s almost hypnotic trance, “let’s get back to studying.” He pulls away and returns to the Mathematics textbook, flipping through pages which are clean. That is, free from Eren’s doodling, of course.

 

A blush forms on Eren’s cheeks and he leans against the couch, surreptitiously glancing at Levi every once in a while from the corner of his eyes. Levi, who’s now found a word problem regarding matrices (which Eren is surprisingly poor in, considering how easy it is … but then again Levi’s smarter than the average person) and is now explaining it to him, hasn’t noticed it once. He didn’t even force Eren to spill his answer.

 

_Levi is …_

 

Levi frowns playfully when he realises that Eren isn’t paying attention at all. He reaches out and pats Eren’s head again, this time a bit harder to make him focus. Eren doesn’t flinch this time.

 

 _Levi is really nice,_ Eren decides.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It didn’t take long for Eren to become bored. A whole new record of lasting for forty-three minutes before finally cracking. And when Eren’s bored, he plays with whatever’s on his table. And when he plays with whatever’s on his table, he becomes annoying. He bounces his eraser on the table, repeating this a few more times before reeling his hand back. He throws it, but doesn’t expect it to ricochet and smack Levi right on the cheek. Eren pales.

 

“God damn it, Eren!” Levi growls, rubbing the sore spot. “Focus!”

 

“All right, all right!” Eren grumbles, pulling the piece of scrap paper, that’s empty save for the two example questions Levi had scribbled down, closer to him. He hasn’t even read the fifth word in the sentence when a deep sigh escapes him.

 

“Eren,” Levi says, this time sounding like he’s about to lose his patience. He sighs and removes his glasses, setting them on the table. “Didn’t we come to the agreement that I’ll help you as long as you don’t make me lose my patience?”

 

“But I don’t understand anything,” Eren whines.

 

“I’ve explained this to you like five times!” Levi exclaims. “How do you still not get it?”

 

“Mathematics is hard,” Eren says in a depressed tone.

 

“Well, it’ll continue being hard if you continue acting like a little shit and not take this seriously!” Levi yells, his patience already snapping. He reaches out and grabs Eren’s shoulder, roughly slamming him against the couch.

 

As if touch ignited his brain, Eren’s suddenly gone back to that horrible night, memories flashing nonstop in his head.

 

_“N-no! Please! Leave me alone!”_

 

_“I don’t want this!”_

 

_“No! It hurts! Stop it, please!”_

 

 _“God, brats like you are the fucking_ best _.”_

 

That … Eren never said that. His head isn’t as badly clouded as it was that night, so he actually remembers small parts of his assailant, like that he actually spoke while committing the act. Eren remembers his voice, low and husky, and his touch, cold and harsh. His vision shifts momentarily and he sees Levi glaring down at him, and his brain suddenly imagines Levi as the one who violated him that night. Everything stops.

 

Eren screams.

 

Levi flinches in shock, completely bewildered as to why Eren’s suddenly screaming. Eren’s eyes are screwed shut, brows furrowed in pain and tears suddenly coursing down his cheeks. Eren flails wildly and Levi tries to calm him down. The boy’s limbs are long, and Levi can feel as if he’s about to be smacked in the face at any moment no matter how much he dodges. “Eren!” he grunts. “Eren, calm down!”

 

“No!” Eren screams. “Please don’t hurt me again! I promise I’ll be good!”

 

Levi swallows when he realises what Eren’s talking about. It doesn’t take a genius to piece together that something bad had happened to Eren, but even a genius wouldn’t know what had happened to him unless they were witnessing the whole thing.

 

He’s not sure, and he’ll definitely want to kill himself for doing this, but … he needs to know. He needs to know if Eren’s thinking what he’s thinking.

 

“You p-promise?” Levi says hesitantly.

 

Eren seems to be in a trance, nodding his head vigorously. His flails stop, his arms now over his head as if he were trying to hide. It breaks Levi’s heart, but he needs to do this. “I want you do something for me. Tell me what you don’t want me to do, and if you continue being good …” Levi swallows, a bitter taste in his mouth, “I won’t hurt you.”

 

“Promise?” Eren’s voice is barely above a whisper.

 

“Yes.”

 

“I – I don’t want you to … to r-rape me,” Eren sobs. Levi can’t see his face, but the tiny voice is enough to send a sharp pang in his heart. “I don’t want you to hurt me. Please, don’t hurt me.”

 

Levi feels as if that’s enough torture on the poor boy. And he’s got enough proof to know that Eren’s definitely that kid from three nights ago. It doesn’t make him feel any better. In fact, it makes him feel even worse, as if he’ll become physically sick soon.

 

Nonetheless, he gently pries Eren’s arms from his face and uses his thumbs to wipe away his tears. “Eren,” he says softly. “Eren. It’s me, Levi.”

 

Eren’s eyes are still closed, but Levi could see the jerky movement behind the closed lids at the mention of his name. “L-Le—”

 

“Shh,” Levi strokes Eren’s cheeks. “I’m here. You’re here. I’m not going to hurt you. Whatever happened in the past can’t hurt you now. I’m here. I’ll protect you.” Despite meaning it with all his heart, Levi can’t help but feel as if it’s a lie.

 

Eren slowly opens his eyes and Levi sees the beginnings of tears form once again. But Eren’s calm. He’s calm, staying still in Levi’s hold as tears fall from his eyes. Levi doesn’t move, carefully staring at Eren and Eren blankly stares back. Only when Levi strokes Eren’s hair does Eren blinks, looking around as if just realising he’s there.

 

“Eren?” Levi says gently. “Eren, are you there?”

 

“Yeah,” Eren whispers. “Yeah. I am.” His eyes are filled with sorrow and guilt and regret. “I’m really sorry, Levi. I didn’t mean to scream at you. It’s just that –”

 

“That was the other traumatising experience, wasn’t it?”

 

Eren nods slowly.

 

Levi sighs and pulls Eren close to him, the latter stiffening at the sudden contact. His face grows red when Levi positions himself so that he’s now hugging him, so he buries his face into Levi’s shirt and inhales.

 

 _Wow, Eren, you’re so stupid,_ is all he can think as the musky scent of Levi suddenly invades his senses. Levi smells so good, though, so Eren doesn’t move away. He smells like sandalwood and pine trees and … and …

 

Eren feels his eyes brimming with tears.

 

He smells like home. He feels warm and his touch is always caring, always loving, and the last time he’s felt this, beside Mikasa hugging him, was when his mother would hold him. Levi is so much like his mother it makes Eren want to cry.

 

But he holds it in, sniffing sharply.

 

To his dismay, Levi takes that as a cue of him being uncomfortable and pulls away. Eren tries not to whine at the loss of warmth. “Better?”

 

Eren nods genuinely. Yeah. He really is.

 

“I’ll go get you some water,” Levi disentangles his arms from Eren and, with a final pat on his head, leaves for the kitchen. Once out of sight, Levi pulls out his phone and dials Erwin’s number.

 

_“He—”_

 

“It’s Eren,” Levi interrupts with a rushed whisper.

 

_“I’m sorry?”_

 

“It’s Eren. He’s definitely …” Levi swallows, “he’s definitely the victim.”

 

_“And what’s your basis on this?”_

 

“I have no time to go into explicit detail, Erwin,” Levi uses his shoulder to press the phone against his ear as he meanders around the kitchen, debating whether he should give Eren warm or cold water. “But I definitely will later when I see you. He got a sudden flashback to the rape and was screaming out for me to stop.”

 

_“And?”_

 

“I figured he was talking about the rape, but I wasn’t too sure, so I had to ask.”

 

_“How?”_

 

Levi stills, hand wrapped around a cup. “Eren … begged for me not to hurt him. Again. He said that he’ll be good. And then, as a confirmation, I told him to tell me what he doesn’t want me to do to him and that I …” he swallows. “I won’t hurt him. He said that he didn’t want me to hurt him, that he didn’t want me to rape him.”

 

Erwin is silent for a long time. So long that Levi had almost thought that Erwin had hung up on him.

 

 _“This … this_ is _a problem.”_

 

“You’re telling me,” Levi sighs, running a hand through his hair. He almost knocks over the cup he had set on the counter and just remembers that he still needs to get water for Eren. He opens the refrigerator and reaches for the chilled pitcher when Erwin speaks again.

 

 _“Levi, I need you to get out of there as soon as possible,”_ Erwin commands.

 

“I can’t do that,” Levi growls, pouring water into the cup. “I’m in the middle of tutoring him. If it wasn’t for my stupid outburst, then I never would have made Eren relive those painful memories.”

 

 _“I don’t know what ‘outburst’ you’re talking about, but it revealed that Eren really_ was _the one raped, so you did a good thing.”_

 

“What good is that?!” Levi snaps, hand shaking so hard, he almost spills the water. “Eren’s traumatised!”

 

_“Would you rather he be traumatised now or later?”_

 

Levi freezes, brows narrowing at Erwin’s words. “What are you talking about? What do you mean?”

 

Erwin sighs over the phone. _“It’s … nothing. Nothing important_ now _, that is.”_

 

“Erwin, if you’re going to leave me hanging, I swear to God, I’ll –”

 

 _“Just stay safe, Levi,”_ Erwin’s words are low and authoritative, and Levi instantly stops trying to fight. He knows that Erwin’s dead serious when he uses that voice. _“Be wary of Eren and his friends from now on. I’m not saying that Eren’s dangerous, but he could be if he finds out.”_

 

“Yeah,” Levi mutters, though he knows that Eren’s too weak for that. “I’ll see you later, Erwin.” He hangs up and sighs again, snatching up the glass of water and leaving the kitchen.

 

“Sorry I was gone for so long, Beautiful,” Levi says. The affectionate term is used hesitantly this time, to see whether it would pull a reaction from Eren. It does, but in a surprisingly pleasant way.

 

Eren’s cheeks turn a light pink and he accepts the cup. “No worries,” he mumbles into the water. So he’s fine with Levi calling him a word of endearment, despite Levi antagonising him a few minutes prior. This kid is seriously messed up. Levi needs to find him some help soon. “I heard you speaking on the phone, by the way,” Eren confesses.

 

Levi’s eyes go wide. “You did?”

 

“Yeah,” Eren doesn’t look up from the glass. “I couldn’t hear what you were talking about, but I knew you were gonna be gone for a while when I heard your voice.”

 

Levi breathes a sigh of relief. “I see.” He settles next to Eren and doesn’t do anything, staring blankly into space and wondering what he should do from here on out. He jolts when something lands on his fingers, relaxing when he sees that it’s only Eren’s hand.

 

“I hope you don’t mind,” Eren says meekly. “I just …” He smiles shyly at Levi. “Thank you, Levi. For everything. For offering to tutor me, for helping me calm down, for getting me water … for everything.”

 

Levi smiles, though it’s strained at the corners. _Don’t thank me yet, kid. I’m gonna be putting you through a lot more from now on._

 

“No problem, Eren. I’m here for you.” Levi clears his throat. “So, are you sure you’re better?”

 

Eren grins, brilliant and innocent that Levi can feel his heart twisting at the image of that smile torn from his face when he was raped. Eren didn’t deserve that. He’s such a beautiful person. “Definitely.”

 

“Good,” Levi says in a soft voice. He suddenly rips his hand from Eren’s touch and pulls the forgotten piece of paper towards him. “’Cause you’ve still got two word problems to solve.”

 

Eren groans, though there’s a smile on his face. “I hate you. You’re fired.”

 

Levi only puts his glasses back on and rests his elbows on the table as he smiles cheekily at Eren. “Start studying, you brat.”

 

Eren pokes his tongue out, grinning when he receives a chuckle from Levi.

 

Levi really is nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, poor Eren. I really should stop torturing the poor boy like this. But I can’t help it! Eren’s too fucking cute. UGH, I JUST WANNA WRECK HIM. I want him to be real so bad. Ugh, just trying to imagine those gorgeous eyes of his in real life makes me want to strangle something.
> 
> Sorry for not posting yesterday. I was admiring how I ended the first part so much that I couldn’t stop rereading it again and again. I don’t really like my own works, so it’s pretty rare that I would be proud of something I wrote. And after reading it again for the 76th time, I remember that I have to finish this and post it up.
> 
> Also, ‘cacophony’ is one of my favourite words. That’ll be what my first child’s first word will be.


	5. Spilling an Ocean For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey, hey. It’s a Sunday. I’m on time.
> 
> Okay, so this is where we delve a little more into the mysterious relationship / characters of Erwin, Hange and Levi, where they discuss more about the mess that is Eren. Also Eren learns about Levi’s past.
> 
> May include Kenny and more (mild) crying from Eren. And also more Riren. It’s cute this time.
> 
> Warning: long chapter.
> 
> ((Also, Pillowtalk by Zayn is my fucking jam right now. I literally can not stop listening to it.))

If Levi is being completely honest, he doesn’t feel right leaving Eren in his own house.

 

After Eren’s outburst, he had calmed down considerably, even focusing just enough for him to scrape through the word problems. The first one he got wrong, but that’s what Levi’s there for. To help him so he won’t fuck up during tests and exams. He managed to get the second one right, though, but Eren had flushed and said that he just winged it after Levi praised him. Levi was having none of it, and said that different professors have different methods of solving problems, and there is no one solution to a problem.

 

Levi, fearing that Eren may freak out again, abruptly ended their tutoring session early and distracted Eren by saying he was hungry. Eren’s mind was obviously still not fully there, and Levi genuinely cared for his wellbeing. Which is completely ironic considering what he had done. They made sandwiches (peanut butter and jelly, because Eren kept on saying they’re the best, which Levi made no comment to) and ate together while sharing a bit more about themselves.

 

Levi learned that he wasn’t the first tutor Eren searched for. In fact, for nearly three weeks, Eren had been looking for tuition centres to help accommodate his studying needs. He _did_ manage to find one, three nights ago (which Levi froze at), but all the slots were full. Eren had rejected their offer of waiting for opening enrolment, which was in two months’ time, since he couldn’t wait that long. Dejected and feeling even more hopeless, Eren stayed at the park weighing his options until late, when he decided to go home.

 

“He said he was walking by this alley when someone grabbed him,” Levi mutters, staring at the floor as he blankly recounts Eren’s story to Erwin and Hange. “He didn’t have time to see who the person was, because he was pushed face-first against the wall.”

 

Erwin and Hange say nothing, just staring at him. Erwin has this calculative look on his face while Hange’s wearing a more sympathetic expression. She reaches out and gently rubs Levi’s arm when she notices him digging his nails into biceps.

 

“Eren wasn’t even given a chance. He was raped and …” Levi swallows, “his virginity, which he was saving for that special someone, was stolen. He was left behind and only managed to get home after around thirty minutes of lying there.”

 

The room becomes silent for a few moments. Erwin sighs and unfolds his arms. “I see … so Eren remembers everything, but he didn’t get a look of the rapist’s face. If he had, I’m very certain he would remember it.”

 

Levi nods, throat too tight to speak.

 

“Eren is a sweet boy,” Hange says, voice sounding tired. “He didn’t need this happening to him.”

 

“But it did,” Levi spits. “And it’s _my_ fault.”

 

“Levi, no, it isn’t –”

 

“Yes, it is!” Levi interrupts, face red with anger. Not at Erwin or Hange, but at himself. “If I … if I had snapped out of it, he wouldn’t have been raped! He wouldn’t have been hurt!”

 

“But you didn’t,” Erwin says. “You _didn’t_ snap out of it, and Eren _did_ get raped.”

 

“Thanks, Erwin,” Levi growls, “for always having my back.”

 

“The point is,” Erwin raises his voice, “what’s done is done. We can’t fault you and we certainly can’t fault Eren. He’s the victim, and so he plays a very crucial part in this game of chess.”

 

“This is one messed-up game, then,” Levi mutters.

 

“There’s no other way around it,” Erwin simply shrugs. “You need to have as little contact with Eren as much as possible.”

 

“Did you not hear me when we spoke on the phone?” Levi grits out. “I’m tutoring Eren. We _just_ started. His trust in me will break if I end things now.”

 

“His trust in you will break even further if he knows your role that night,” Erwin points out.

 

“Damn it, Erwin!” Levi roars, Hange retracting her hand from Levi’s arm. “I am _not_ your puppet! And neither is Eren! You can’t keep playing us like this!”

 

“It’s for the best, Levi,” Erwin says with a stern face. “With the way things sound, this trauma is going to break Eren. Are you going to be the one to pick up the pieces?”

 

“Yes,” Levi says immediately. “I’ll even fucking glue them all together if I have to.”

 

“Will Eren let you?” Erwin asks.

 

Levi’s expression becomes a mix of anger and confusion. “The fuck do you mean?”

 

Erwin sighs and steeps his fingers together, staring at Levi over his fingertips. “Yes, you will pick up the pieces, because Lord knows that you’ll disobey me when I tell you not to and do it anyway, and yes, you will glue them back together. But if Eren were to find out your true identity,” his gaze hardens, “will he let you do such an intimate act?”

 

The question has Levi reeling. Eren … Eren trusts him, right? After all, he thanked him for everything earlier today, even though Eren didn’t need to do such a thing at all.

 

“Erwin,” Hange says softly, gripping his shoulders as she watches the internal conflict rage in Levi’s mind. “Don’t you think that’s enough?”

 

“… I suppose so,” Erwin relents. “Levi, you don’t have to think much about it. I’m sorry for placing such a heavy question on your shoulders.”

 

“You’re never sorry,” Levi scoffs, though he’s glad Erwin had said so. Despite Erwin being a confusing fuckwad, he trusts him with his life. He’ll even die for him if Erwin tells him to.

 

Hange smiles at the dispelled tension, clapping her hands to draw attention to herself. “Well, now that we’re done talking about the ‘dark stuff’,” she giggles, “how about you give us a little description of this Eren, huh? You sound smitten with him.”

 

“That’s because Levi is,” Erwin says with a slight frown, still disapproving of Levi’s infatuation with the victim. His frown quickly changes to a smile. “But he looks happy, doesn’t he?”

 

Hange squeals and grabs Levi’s cheeks, squishing them together. “You’re so adorable, Levi!”

 

“I’m not smitten with him,” Levi growls after pushing Hange away. “I just … think he’s really pretty.”

 

“What colour is his hair?” Hange asks.

 

“Brown,” Levi replies immediately. “But like … a dark, rich chocolatey brown. It’s also really soft, like you’re touching feathers …”

 

A knowing smile forms on Hange’s lips. “How about his eyes?” she asks softly.

 

“Green,” Levi says just as fast. “As bright as emeralds, but when the light touches them, it’s like I’m looking into the ocean. Like I’m looking into a new world. When tears fall from his eyes … it’s sad, yet beautiful, because it’s like the ocean’s spilling, something I never thought possible.” He swallows. “Eren’s … beautiful when he cries.”

 

“Wow, Levi,” Hange chuckles. “You’re a pretty sadistic bastard, aren’t you?”

 

Levi glowers at her. “Shut it.”

 

“You really _do_ like this boy, don’t you, Levi?” Erwin asks quietly.

 

“No,” Levi sighs. “I don’t.”

 

“Are you sure?” A worried look crosses Hange’s features. “You’re not just trying to deny it, are you?”

 

“No,” Levi repeats. “He’s beautiful, gorgeous even, and I’m _definitely_ sure I don’t like him. But …” his expression softens. “I _do_ feel something for him. Like I want to protect him from the evils of the world.”

 

Erwin shoots him a pointed look, the unspoken _even though you’ve failed_ obvious even in the silence.

 

Levi gives him a glare just as dirty.

 

“Oh, Lord,” Hange exasperatedly throws her hands in the air and starts to push Levi through the door. “All right, time to get Levi home. I don’t feel like going through another one of your testosterone battles in a span of five minutes.”

 

“It’s not a battle if it’s obvious who the winner is,” Levi grumbles.

 

“Even the blind can see that it’s me,” Erwin calls out, having heard Levi’s remark.

 

“Jesus, you two are like children,” Hange rolls her eyes.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Eren is currently slumped on the coffee table, staring at Levi’s loopy handwriting from where he had corrected his answer and wrote what the proper way of solving the problem is.

 

Stupid … _He’s so stupid!_

 

He _can’t_ believe he spilled it to Levi, a guy who he’s feeling a minor attraction towards, mind you, that he got raped! But it all just came tumbling out, so you can’t blame him! Eren’s glad that Levi didn’t judge him, or tell him to go seek for some help. But … now that he thinks about it, Levi acted pretty nonchalant about it, as if people getting raped were a daily occurrence.

 

Eren shudders. _God_ , he hope that isn’t true. No one deserves to be taken against their will.

 

What a heavy topic, though. Eren doesn’t fare well with deep stuff, so he tries to distract his mind with something else. He sighs and turns his head to the side, now staring at the plate that once held Levi’s sandwich.

 

Levi had left almost immediately after he ate, and Eren was sure that it was because he was a freak, screaming at him and suddenly crying for no reason. Levi was quick to erase that assumption from his head, saying that he needed to go back home because he remembered that his friends were going to drop by any moment soon.

 

Eren had vaguely wondered why Levi didn’t just text his friends to kindly fuck off and come another day, but the question was immediately abandoned when Levi patted his head and softly ruffled his hair, a small smile on his face. Eren was certain that his face was going to combust.

 

Levi’s nice. He’s a nice person. The nicest person he’s ever known. Okay, maybe not, not when Armin exists, but he’s still pretty darn nice.

 

Eren knows this.

 

So why does he feel like he should be scared of Levi?

 

He hitches in a breath when the same thing happens, when his mind decides to screw with him and imagine Levi as the rapist. Those sharp eyes holding condescension, his grip tightening to the point where it hurts, his mouth curled into an evil smirk. Eren shoots up and clutches at his heart, sweat rolling off his forehead as he gasps for air.

 

There’s no way … right? There’s no way Levi was his rapist that night. Levi’s nice! He agreed to be Eren’s tutor despite not knowing him. Sure, it was because Armin asked him to, but Levi still had every right to reject his offer.

 

Eren shakes his head and stands up, his legs tingling with pins and needles from sitting down for too long. He winces as the pain shoots up his thighs, deciding to just stay still and wait it out. As he waits, Eren absentmindedly rubs his hands together. He’s been feeling cold lately, and the weather’s fine, so he knows it’s just him.

 

He really needs someone to warm him up, like maybe Mikasa, or Armin … or maybe even Levi –

 

_Your rapist._

 

Eren gasps as his mind lashes out at him, shocking him so much he actually stumbles back and crashes to the floor. The pain doesn’t register, not when his mind keeps taunting him with images of Levi forcibly taking him.

 

 _Stop!_ Eren screams at himself, squeezing his eyes shut as he clutches at his head. _Stop it!_

 

It doesn’t make any sense, though! Levi’s so nice, despite them knowing each other for only two days. Why would he be the one who raped him?

 

_“Well, that’s not my name, but I guess I’ll take it, Beautiful.”_

 

Levi _can’t_ be his rapist!

 

_“Eren. Breathe. Are you trying to distract me with your cuteness?”_

 

He can’t possibly be!

 

_“You have gorgeous eyes, you know that? You should smile more, Beautiful.”_

 

Levi would never do that to him!

 

_“Your parents loved you both very much, seeing as they wasted no time in sacrificing their lives for your sister.”_

 

Levi cares for him!

 

_“Currently, I am right here, right now … to help a certain cute brat improve on his grades.”_

 

He trusts him with all his heart!

 

_“Shh. I’m here. You’re here. I’m not going to hurt you. Whatever happened in the past can’t hurt you now. I’m here. I’ll protect you.”_

 

Eren’s chest heaves as pants leave him. He scrambles back to his feet and dashes for the front door. He needs to leave. His mind’s corrupting him. He needs to deal with this in an open space. He flings the door open, and slams it behind him, breathing heavily and staring at the door as if it’s the source of all his problems.

 

He turns around and abruptly crashes headfirst into someone, Eren wincing as he falls down for the second time.

 

“Oi, brat. Watch where you’re going.”

 

For a heart-stopping second, Eren had thought that Levi was in front of him. His breaths still when he sees a tall, willowy man, a beard on his face and a fedora shielding his head from the sun. Eren blinks then sighs in relief. It’s someone else. As much as he knows – or trying to convince his brain otherwise – that Levi _isn’t_ his rapist, he can’t really deal with seeing his face right now. Not when his brain’s all messed up.

 

Eren bows his head, a soft flush on his cheeks. “M’sorry,” he mumbles. His vision suddenly spins when he feels a firm grip on his arms and he’s hoisted on his feet. Eren stumbles a bit, realising that the man had literally pulled him to his feet. Despite his skinny stature, he’s really strong.

 

“Jesus, kid, what were ya doin’ runnin’ out of there like that?” the man tilts his fedora lower when a sunray hits them.

 

Eren quickly shakes his head, refusing to look up from the ground. “I-it’s nothing. Sorry. I was just being stupid.”

 

To his surprise, the man barks out a laugh. “Ha! I ain’t hear that every day! You’re a ray of sunshine, aren’t ya, kid! What’s your name?” He tilts his fedora back to reveal more of his face, a sharp nose and even sharper eyes, eyes that remind Eren of Levi’s.

 

Those eyes glint with something Eren can’t quite place before they disappear completely. He thinks nothing of it, smiling shyly at the man. “I’m Eren. Eren Jaeger.”

 

His smile falters when Armin’s words from last night echo in his mind. _You’re so trustworthy. The moment anyone smiles and greets you, you trust them instantly._ Eren shakes his head. No … he’s thinking too much into this. He’s greeted plenty of people before. What makes this man so different?

 

“Jaeger, eh?” the man hums. “Never heard of anybody with that name. Unique one, isn’t it?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I’m an Ackerman myself, and I thought it was a kickass name. Turns out there’s a ‘hunter’ living here!”

 

Eren blinks. “Wait, Ackerman?”

 

The man smirks and leans against a wall. “Kenny Ackerman. Member of the Military Police in Mitras, at your service.”

 

“Kenny Ackerman …” Eren mumbles. “Do you know Levi?” he raises his voice. “Levi Ackerman?”

 

Kenny blinks in surprise before a nasty grin spreads on his lips. “Know him? That midget’s my fuckin’ nephew, that’s what he is!”

 

Nephew? So that means … the man who forced Levi to work under him to pay off his mother’s hospital bill is – Eren swallows. This man right here. Kenny Ackerman, Levi’s uncle.

 

Maybe he _should’ve_ taken Armin’s advice more carefully.

 

“I see,” Eren says, hurriedly pushing his way past Kenny. “Well, it was nice meeting you! I have to go!”

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Kenny laughs, gripping Eren’s arm and pulling him back. “What’s the rush? What, ya scared of me or somethin’?”

 

“N-no,” Eren says. “I just –”

 

“You asked me about the runt,” Kenny interrupts, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, though the grin stays plastered on his face. “Do ya know him?”

 

Eren pales. Shit. It’s not just Armin – literally everyone has high detection skills. Either that or Eren’s just fucking stupid, giving away everything without a second’s thought just like that.

 

Kenny’s eyes go wide in recognition and he releases Eren’s arm as he laughs heartily. Eren doesn’t move, too scared to stay but too curious to leave. “Ah! I know who you are! You’re the kid the little shit’s tutoring, ain’t ya?”

 

Eren wonders how in all hell does Kenny know that, but he nods timidly. It seems like he’ll get found out if he lies.

 

“So,” Kenny twirls a knife – something which Eren just notices, eyes wide with fear – in the air and catches it. “Ya know Levi, and the shit knows ya. He’s told ya all about me, hasn’t he? Considering ya were about to bolt when I told ya who I was.”

 

Man, this guy is good. Seems like those pigs in Mitras _do_ hire people with great skill, considering all the run-ins he had with the cops (not much, mind you) has him believing that all the higher ups in Mitras are just lazy, good-for-nothing, corrupted idiots.

 

“Well, I ain’t gonna paint myself in a pretty picture,” Kenny snickers. “’Cause that’s what I did. Making Levi work off his debt, I mean. He’s a genius, even when it comes to fighting. Really good at pinning people down.”

 

Eren hitches in a breath. “What?”

 

“ _Oh_ …” A sinister smile forms on Kenny’s lips. He pockets the knife and folds his arms. “That little shorty never told ya what exactly he did … _did_ he?”

 

Eren hesitantly shakes his head. He doesn’t want to know, but at the same time, he does.

 

“Let me tell you a little story, kid,” Kenny crouches and gestures Eren to come closer, but Eren stays where he is. Kenny just smirks. “We all used to live in The Underground – me, my sister, and that little shit. Kuchel’s always sickly, and I always wanted to leave, but I can’t. Even though we ain’t really that close, she’s still my sister, and someone’s gotta take care of her.”

 

“And Levi can’t,” Eren says softly. “Not on his own, that is.”

 

Kenny’s grin grows larger. “So I made him work for me to pay off Kuchel’s hospital bills. Ya see, I was a hitman. Still is, actually. But it’s legal now. Back then, I was just doin’ dirty work. Whoever paid me more, I would do that job. Don’t care who it was. But I was a lone man, yeah? I needed help.”

 

It dawns on Eren, his eyes wide and face paling. “So … when you made Levi work under you …”

 

“He killed,” Kenny’s eyes are glinting maniacally, “for me. He had no choice, either, else I won’t pay for any more of Kuchel’s bills if she goes to the hospital again.”

 

“You’re sick,” Eren’s voice is trembling. He has no idea how long Kenny and Levi had started this twisted deal, but the image of Levi as young as six years old killing people is terrifying. “Do you have any idea how old he was back then?”

 

“’Course I did,” Kenny snorts. “Kuchel would celebrate his birthday every year even though she had no money. She loves the little runt. Claimed that he’s the best thing that happened in her shitty life.”

 

Maybe Eren shouldn’t have stayed. After all, he’s delving deeper into Levi’s life, something which he now wishes he could only hear from Levi himself.

 

“Started luring in my targets into quiet areas at ten,” Kenny states proudly, and Eren feels like throwing up. Ten … Levi started this when he was ten years old … It isn’t as bad as his initial thought, but Levi was practically still a baby at that age. “And by thirteen, he was killing ’em left and right. I taught him how to hold people, how to get out of their grips, and how to pin ’em against surfaces while they beg for their lives.”

 

“Pin … against surfaces?” Eren whispers, the words _he’s your rapist, he’s your rapist, he’s your rapist_ constantly flashing in his mind.

 

“Really knows how to use those hands of his, that one,” Kenny continues, seemingly oblivious to Eren’s growing panic. “But the little shit tends to get carried away. Did you ever see his body?”

 

Eren flushes heavily and looks away to hide his blush. But from the way Kenny’s smirking at him, he’s seen the rosy colour on his cheeks. “N-no! Why would he show it to me?”

 

“Tch, that’s a shame,” Kenny scoffs. Eren had never noticed how eerily similar Kenny’s and Levi’s personalities are. It’s almost creepy how alike they are. “He has scars all over his body. He’s a clumsy midget; can’t seem to focus on his surroundings when he’s locked on a target.”

 

Eren has this sudden desperate urge to see Levi’s marked body. He wants to caress and kiss each scar and hold him tight and say that he won’t ever have to do such a dangerous thing again … If Levi permits him, that is.

 

“Levi had such a hard life,” Eren sighs, his shoulders drooping. Eren now feels like a giant baby for blubbering about his past to Levi, Levi who was forced to kill, forced to take away another person’s life. “I can’t believe he was alone in all this.”

 

“Not really,” Kenny says, snorting obnoxiously. “He obviously had others working with him.”

 

“I … I need to go,” Eren mumbles, walking away from him.

 

“Just stay away from him when it gets dark, kid!” Kenny calls out. Eren stops dead, eyes wide. “Levi’s violent as all fuck. It’s like he’s got this monster in him that comes out at night.” With that, he walks away, whistling to himself.

 

But Eren.

 

Eren stays where he is.

 

His legs begin to shake, and he clutches himself in an effort to stay upright. Levi becomes violent during night time? Does that mean that he’s … Eren shakes his head. No. No, that doesn’t make sense. Levi’s supposed to tutor him on the evening on Fridays, so he shouldn’t be a threat when it’s dark. Unless Kenny’s lying, which Eren doesn’t see any reason why he should be.

 

 _Or maybe Kenny’s telling the truth,_ his brain whispers. _And Levi wants you to be calm until he forcibly takes you against your will again on Friday._

 

A choked sob escapes Eren and he slaps his hands over his ears. _Stop it!_ he screams, trying to block out the taunts in his mind as he runs … somewhere. Anywhere. Anywhere but here.

 

Eren runs and runs and runs, his tears dripping down his cheeks as he pushes past people. He ignores their angered yells and their stares at his face, slowing down only when the need to catch his breath grows strong. He bends over, supporting his upper body by resting his hands on his knees, breaths coming out strong and harsh.

 

“Levi is …” he pants. “Levi is nice … he’s handsome, he’s kind, he’s caring …” Eren closes his eyes. “He’s perfect.”

 

The wind picks up slightly and he shivers, opening his eyes and looking around. He blinks when he doesn’t recognise his surroundings, panic settling in. Where is he?

 

He’s in a park, that much he can tell, but it’s not a park he recognises. Is he even still in Shiganshina? One look at the bushes tells him that he’s not even in his own neighbourhood, as the Mayor of Shiganshina declared that their flower – stargazer lilies, which happens to be Eren’s mother’s favourite flower – should be planted in all the parks of their town.

 

Eren can see bluebells and baby’s breaths and daffodils and hibiscuses and – _wow,_ Eren thinks as he fingers an orchid petal. _The gardeners here really need vision on what to plant next to each other._ It’s as if the gardeners went to a nearby kindergarten, snatched up the first colouring they see and planted flowers in accordance to the colours on the paper.

 

Ugh, they totally contrast each other. Eren chuckles as he wipes away his tears, imagining how his mother would have whined at how terrible the arrangements are.

 

There’s a faint orange glow in the sky, and Eren frowns. Is the sun already starting its descent? He didn’t think he mulled for that long after Levi left. He needs to call someone, probably Armin, and ask him to pick him up. Eren shoves his hand into his pockets and finds nothing, patting all over his body and coming up empty-handed. He sighs heavily. He left his phone behind.

 

How lucky is he?

 

While he can’t stay here, he definitely can’t leave. Not with his brain all fuzzy. He’ll leave later, probably in an hour or so (or what he’ll _feel_ is an hour or so). And didn’t he come here to clear his mind? Well, not here, per se, but he’s at a park … whichever park he is.

 

Eren finds an empty bench – stone, which he frowns at, because all the benches he sees in Shiganshina are wooden – and sits on it, wincing at the unfamiliar texture under his bottom. Now he knows why there are no wooden benches in Shiganshina. And there’s no back to it either! He has to stay upright or risk falling over.

 

This park sucks.

 

But at least Eren’s got what he came here for – peace. And now that he’s at peace, he closes his eyes and lets his mind swim, careful to not let it venture to the rape three nights ago, and careful not to touch any topic regarding Levi.

 

The last part proves to be a bit of a challenge. Levi’s words continuously worm into his heart and he feels a bit giddy at the thought of Levi genuinely caring for him. He knows Levi does, but Eren feels like he has to constantly remind himself that he does. He sighs and opens his eyes, the sky turning more orange. Either he had closed his eyes longer than he thought or the sun sets faster here.

 

Eren growls and looks around. Where _is_ here anyway? There has to be a sign nearby. Eren stands up and wanders around the park, ignoring all the people doing their own business. A child nearly crashes into him and Eren just manages to whirl himself out of the way, spotting the entrance of the park. He jogs towards it, his frown deepening when he reads the sign.

 

“Utopia Central Park …” he mutters. Utopia? He’s in the Utopia District? How far did he run for him to end up in the neighbouring city? Did he really have that much on mind for him to completely tune out his surroundings?

 

Well, at least he’s nearby his home. Now he just needs to look for a bus stop and see if there’s a bus that goes down his street. Just as he’s about to ask someone if there’s a nearby bus stop where buses that go to Shiganshina pass by, he turns around and crashes into someone.

 

 _Damn it, not again,_ Eren growls as he lands on his butt. He opens his eyes, having half a mind to snap at the person, when his anger dies immediately.

 

It’s Levi.

 

They stare at each other for a moment, Eren unsure whether the Levi in front of him is the real one or an apparition.

 

“… Eren?”

 

Alarms go off in Eren’s head. This is definitely the real Levi. Okay, he’s not sure, but it feels like he’s real.

 

“Eren, what are you doing here?” Levi asks gently, holding out a hand. Eren accepts it gingerly, allowing him to pull him to his feet.

 

“I – I got lost,” Eren admits. “I was supposed to go to one of the parks in Shiganshina, but I got lost in thought, so …”

 

“You ended up all the way _here_?” Levi asks in a voice full of disbelief. “It takes over thirty minutes by foot. Aren’t your feet aching?”

 

“I – uh – er – yeah,” Eren smiles sheepishly. “I … ran. Here. From home.”

 

Levi’s eyes are wide. “Are you insane? How are your feet? Are they still okay? Do they hurt? Do you need me to carry you?”

 

Eren stares for a while, before his heart flutters and a small smile forms on his face. Levi is … so, _so_ nice. “No … I’m fine. But I wouldn’t say no to you carrying me. After all, I _did_ run all the way here from home.”

 

The corner of Levi’s lips curves upwards. “Brat,” he says, though not without affection. “Would you prefer a slave as your carriage or a metal steed?”

 

Eren blinks twice. “Metal steed?”

 

“I just came from visiting a friend’s house,” Levi explains. “She just went into the diner to buy some food, so she’s not gonna come out for a while. She’s gonna drop me off, but I’m sure she won’t mind driving to Shiganshina to drop you off too. I _would_ do it myself, but my car broke down last week, and I’m having it repaired.”

 

“You came from a friend’s house?” Eren repeats, his heart pounding painfully and his shoulders drooping. “So … you didn’t leave early to go back to your house?”

 

Levi sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Fuck, I’m sorry for lying, Eren. You didn’t deserve that. I don’t know why I did it. It’s a …” he shrugs, “defence mechanism.”

 

“Lying?” Eren whispers, his eyes brimming with tears of betrayal.

 

“… Yes,” Levi says hesitantly. “If you had known my past, you would know why. It’s like an old habit I can’t break, so I –”

 

“I already know your past,” Eren interrupts, before he pales as the realisation of what he had just said dumps over him like a bucket of ice cold water.

 

Levi’s eyes narrow, both in suspicion and confusion. “You do? How?”

 

Eren swallows. “… I … ran into … your uncle earlier.”

 

“ _What_?!” Levi’s eyes are wide with fear and urgency. He grabs Eren’s shoulders. “ _When_?!”

 

“When I was leaving the house,” Eren says timidly. “He … talked about you. About your past and what you did.”

 

Levi’s face goes pale, paler than his original skin colour, if that’s even possible. He backs away from Eren slowly, his arms slowly dropping to his side. “I … I don’t …”

 

“I’m sorry, Levi.”

 

That snaps Levi out of his momentary fear. “What?”

 

The ocean begins to spill again, but they’re more of remorse than betrayal this time. “I’m sorry that you had to kill at such a young age,” Eren sobs, rubbing his eyes as more tears come out. “I’m sorry that you were forced to do it to keep your mother alive and safe. You …” He covers his face with his hands, his voice muffled. “You didn’t deserve it. You were still so young back then, and to have your innocence ripped away from you just like that, I just …”

 

Levi softens and steps forward, gently prying Eren’s hands from his face. He smiles at Eren’s face – screwed up, red, wet and messy with tears … but still so beautiful. Levi caresses his cheeks and slowly leans in, waiting for any sign of rejection from Eren. When none comes, he presses a small kiss on the corner of Eren’s lips, revelling in the slight squeak Eren emits.

 

“Please don’t cry,” Levi murmurs, pressing their foreheads together. It’s an awkward position, Levi straining his neck up and Eren slightly bending to accommodate Levi’s (lack of) height, but it’s still just right. “Don’t cry for me. You should save those tears for something special, Beautiful. I don’t want to see the ocean dried up.”

 

“But you are,” Eren sobs, weakly grasping at Levi’s hands still on his face. “You’re so special, and …” His voice cracks.

 

“And what, Beautiful?”

 

“And I don’t want to fall in love with a rapist,” Eren whispers.

 

“Then don’t,” Levi continues in that same voice. “Fall in love with _me_ instead. _Me_ , as a person.”

 

“Levi,” Eren whines in a small voice, burying his face into Levi’s neck as his arms wrap around him. “Levi, Levi, Levi.”

 

Thoroughly confused, Levi holds Eren, staying silent as he lets Eren cry it out. It isn’t long until Eren eventually stops, the same time Hange reappears from the diner.

 

“Levi!” she grins, jogging towards him. “Sorry I took so … long …” she trails off when she sees her friend and a stranger wrapped up in an embrace. Despite the orange glow in the sky, it’s not hard to see the dark brown in his unruly mop of hair, nor is it hard to see the tanned colour of his skin.

 

Hange smiles when it dawns on her that this is Eren; she takes a step back to give the two the privacy they need. From the way Levi eyes her, he’s already spotted her. There’s gratitude shining in them, gratitude for not stepping in and interrupting this tender moment.

 

Eren jolts when he glances upwards and spots Hange, stiffening and pulling away. “U-uh …” he blushes and steps away from Levi.

 

Hange says nothing. Instead, she smiles kindly at Eren. “Nice to meet you. I’m Hange Zoë, Levi’s friend. Are you Eren Jaeger?”

 

Eren’s body goes stiff, goes alert. How is it that everyone he meets knows who he is?

 

“Levi told me all about you,” Hange continues to smile, noticing the sirens going off in Eren’s head. “He seems to care about you a lot.”

 

“Stop talking about me as if I’m not here,” Levi tsks, though Eren notices a slight blush on his cheeks. It makes him feel giddy. “Anyway, can you drop Eren off?”

 

Hange grins brightly and goes towards Eren, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Of course! Where do you live, sweetie?”

 

Eren feels warmth blossoming in him. Hange’s … warm. She sounds warm, she feels warm, she _is_ warm. “Sh-Shiganshina,” he stutters.

 

Hange blinks curiously. “That’s the next town, isn’t it? What are you doing all the way out here, sweetie?”

 

“G-got lost,” Eren says in a small voice. It’s not because he’s frightened of Hange that he’s stammering. It’s because she has this bright and cheerful yet authoritative and powerful aura that it overwhelms him. “I was lost in my thoughts.”

 

“Say no more, sweetie,” Hange lightly pats his cheek. “I’ll bring my car over, and you can get in with Levi.” She hands her bag of takeout to Levi and bids them a small wave before hurrying off.

 

“She’s nice,” Eren says after a while.

 

Levi scoffs. “Wait until you know her for more than a month. Her true annoying characteristics come out.”

 

Eren giggles. “I can’t wait.”

 

Hange’s car comes by a moment later. She rolls the window down and gestures for Levi and Eren to climb in, pressing the master lock button to unlock the doors. Levi, despite always sitting shotgun, decides to get in the back with Eren. Not only will it make it awkward for Eren to be alone, but Levi feels like he needs someone right now.

 

Hange turns on the radio to an R&B station, the music low enough for it to not be too loud, but still high enough for Levi and Eren to have a private conversation if the need arises. Levi really is thankful he has someone as Hange as a friend. Despite her annoying character, she’s very perceptive. She’s a lot like Armin in many ways. He’s sure the two of them would click instantly.

 

“Eren,” Levi says softly. “Are you okay?”

 

“Mmm,” Eren curls in on himself.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

Eren stills for a moment before looking at Levi with big, imploring eyes. The ocean’s never looked so bright yet so dim, like it’s forced to sparkle, but the sparkle would fade once it loses its purpose to shine. “Levi … what are we?”

 

Levi furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”

 

“You … you kissed me,” Eren whispers, looking so distraught. Levi just wants to smoothen the crease in his eyebrows. No one as beautiful as Eren should look so troubled over something. “Well, sort of, but it meant something … didn’t it?”

 

Levi swallows before he sighs, scooting closer. “Eren, I’m not going to lie. I _do_ feel something for you, but I’m not sure if it’s love … or if it’s even a crush. But I _do_ know that I just want to hold and protect you.”

 

“I feel the same way with Mikasa,” Eren confesses, “but she never makes me feel this way.”

 

“Like what?”

 

Eren’s face is going to be permanently red by the end of the day. “Like … like I want to kiss her.”

 

Levi’s brows go high. “Oh.”

 

“Y-yeah …” Eren stammers, looking away.

 

A beat of silence pass between the two of them, the music and Hange’s soft humming being the only things heard. Levi gathers his nerve and hesitantly rests a hand on Eren’s shoulder, the action jolting the latter. “I mean what I said, though. Fall in love with me. I may not have the same intensity of feelings you have, but I feel like it’ll reach there soon. You’re special to me, Eren.”

 

Eren shakes his head. “But …” his eyes fill with tears again. “I don’t want to fall in love with a rapist,” he repeats.

 

“You’re not,” Levi urges. “ _Me_. Pick _me_. Fall in love with _me_.”

 

“I can’t,” Eren whispers, tears spilling down his cheeks as he curls in on himself. “It hurts so much, that I feel something for you, but I don’t … I _can’t_ love you.”

 

“Why not?” Levi presses on. It only takes a whimper from Eren for it to finally hit him.

 

He thinks Levi’s his rapist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s only, like, five more chapters left. It’s as long as the original fic, but I may make it longer if I want to add in more things. After all, I’m only writing this as I go along. So because of that, please point out any and all mistakes that don’t tie together. But it could also be shorter because I could put into one chapter what was previously two chapters in the original fic.
> 
> Also, Eren finds the truth about Levi next chapter. I’m only telling you all this because I want you all to please please PLEASE comment on that chapter when it comes out, because I’m a bit nervous and I want to know if I’m doing things right. You’ll know what I mean when it comes out.
> 
> PS: I really love to read all your theories and interpretations on Levi’s actions. I’m not going to be saying if any are right or wrong, because that’ll be too obvious and I’ll be giving the story away. So just keep on giving me your theories on what you think is up with Levi (until next chapter, that is, since everything’s going to be revealed by then). They’re really interesting to read, some I never even thought of.


	6. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as my clock struck midnight (maybe give or take a few minutes), I posted this. I had already finished writing this about three days ago, so fastest update ever? This is also known as the “please don’t hate me” chapter.
> 
> As much as your theories amuse me, you all really shouldn’t hate Levi. Nor Erwin and Hange. They all have their hearts in the right place. And you’ll only know why when you read on.
> 
> Also, long but important note at the bottom.
> 
> Right, and I’ll need your comments to see if I did this right.

Levi can’t breathe. Well, he doesn’t think he can. Not with that thought suddenly in his mind. He sighs heavily and flops back to his seat, noticing how Eren flinches at his sudden movement. It hurts.

 

He doesn’t speak for the rest of the ride, more focused on staring outside the window. He ignores how Eren picks up his courage to speak to him multiple times, only to have it fail before he can even get a word out. He ignores how Hange lowers the volume on the radio and asks Eren for directions once they enter the main streets of Shiganshina.

 

He especially ignores how much Eren curls in on himself, unwilling to touch him.

 

They reach the front of Eren’s house soon enough, and Hange presses the master lock button as she looks behind. “Well, we’re here. It was nice meeting you, Eren. Hope we can see each other again someday.”

 

Eren doesn’t answer, instead focusing on the floor. If Hange is Levi’s friend, then she must be an accomplice. She must have also played a part in his rape. He mutely nods and goes to open the door when the door opening on the other side of the car startles him. Levi climbs out and slams the door behind him, walking around the car and stopping in front of Eren’s house. He sits on the stairs and waits, arms hanging on his knees and head hung low.

 

Eren shoots a terrified look at Hange. Is that a signal? Did Levi give her permission to drive him off somewhere? To his surprise, Hange looks just as confused. She gives Eren a warm smile. “I’m … sorry, Eren. I don’t know what’s up with Levi tonight, but it looks like he wants to talk to you. He wouldn’t get out to be in front of your house otherwise, right?”

 

Him? Talk to Levi? Is Hange insane? Who’s to say that Levi won’t rape him a second time? It’s dark out – wow, Hange must have gotten lost for it to become dark by the time they reach Shiganshina – and there are barely any people on the streets. The only reason Eren got raped was because he was stupid to stay out till night. It’s his fault, but now that his rapist is there, _waiting_ for him, there’s no way he’s going out there.

 

“Um, I think I’ll just stay in here,” Eren mumbles.

 

Hange shakes her head with a regretful smile. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but I can’t let you do that. Looks like Levi wants to talk you. He only acts like this when he has too much on his mind.” She reaches out and pats Eren’s shoulder. “He won’t hurt you. I’m sure of it.”

 

 _Why are you?_ Eren wants to scream. _He raped me!_

 

He definitely doesn’t want to go out to where Levi is, but he can’t find a reason to stay, so Eren, very hesitantly, opens the door and steps out. Levi doesn’t look up when Eren shuts the door, but he does when Hange zooms off.

 

“Eren,” his voice is tired and weary, not at all low and charming like it normally is.

 

Against his better judgement, Eren takes a couple of steps closer to Levi.

 

“Eren, please,” Levi sighs. “Sit next to me.”

 

“I don’t want to,” Eren whispers.

 

“Then hear me out,” Levi pleads. At least Eren’s responding, so that’s a good thing.

 

“Why were you quiet?” Eren asks instead. “In the car? Why didn’t you speak to me?”

 

“Why would I want to speak to someone who would pin that title to me?” Levi shoots back, though his voice sounds more exasperated than annoyed. “Too many things were running in my mind! Like that night you were raped, and on how I failed you and Erwin and Hange!”

 

“How did you fail them?” Eren spits, anger beginning to form in his head. He doesn’t know who Erwin is, but if he’s grouped in the same category as Hange, then that means that they’re Levi’s accomplices. He deserves to be hated as well. “What, you didn’t fuck me the way they wanted you to? Didn’t drug me or tie me up? Or left me for dead?”

 

“Eren, stop it!” Levi growls, standing up. His angered aura lashes out and Eren swallows. He had forgotten just how impatient Levi is. Maybe he shouldn’t have pushed Levi like this. “Insult me all you want, but leave Erwin out of this!”

 

“Why should I?” Eren ignores the pang in his heart. Just who exactly is this Erwin person? Does he and Levi share a history together? “He’s just as guilty as you are!”

 

“Eren, what the _fuck_ are you talking about?” Levi stresses.

 

“Stay there for all I care!” Eren clenches his fists by his side, the beginnings of tears starting to form in his eyes. He stubbornly blinks them away. Levi’s not special. He shouldn’t cry for someone like him. “I’m leaving!”

 

“Eren –” Levi growls and grabs his arm, yanking him back before he can leave. “Have you lost your mind?”

 

Eren glares at Levi. “It’s been perfectly clear all this time.”

 

“And where do you think you’re going?” Levi ignores Eren’s statement. It clearly is not, considering he’s constantly jumping from one topic to another. “Your house is herethis way!”

 

“I’ll only enter when you leave.” Eren tries to pull his wrist free, but Levi’s grip is too strong. He twists his whole body to try and break free, yelping when he finds himself slipping and falling to the ground.

 

“Eren!” Levi gasps, releasing Eren’s arm and hovering over him.

 

“Ow,” Eren whimpers, curling in on himself and clutching his right leg carefully. Almost immediately, tears spill from his eyes and a muffled sob escapes his lips when he accidentally touches the sore area. He twisted his ankle.

 

“Eren,” Levi says softly. “Eren, I’m so sorry.”

 

“Don’t touch me,” Eren sobs, unable to see Levi clearly. He’s glad, though. He doesn’t have to look at the face of his rapist.

 

“Eren, I’ll need to put some ice on that thing,” Levi says gently. “I need you to let me carry you.”

 

“No,” Eren cries, his face twisted with pain. “Please … just leave me alone.”

 

Levi doesn’t move. “You’re hurting, Eren. But it’ll be gone within an hour. But only if you _trust_ me and let me carry you inside.”

 

Why should Eren trust the words of Levi? He had already raped him before. His mind was right – Levi _is_ his rapist. There’s no doubting it now. But there _are_ still some traces of doubt. Levi had been nothing but nice the entire time they were together. Unless it’s just his way of putting down his victim’s defences.

 

All right, If Levi tries to rape him again, then Eren will just refuse. They know each other now compared to before, so hopefully Levi would respect his choice. But if he doesn’t, then Eren would just simple shove him off and scream. That’s sure to gather some attention.

 

So Eren, deciding to risk his trust in Levi, for possibly the last time, nods.

 

A look of relief washes on Levi’s face and he scoots closer. “Don’t move,” he murmurs into Eren’s ear as he positions his arms under his body. “It’ll hurt, but only for a second.” With caution, he lifts Eren into the air, one under his back and the other hooked under his legs.

 

Levi was right – it _did_ hurt. Eren clamps his lips shut to trap the scream that was begging to be freed. He wraps his arms around Levi – _the man who raped,_ his mind (un)helpfully whispers – and tucks his face into his neck, whimpering with every move.

 

Levi’s surprised when he kicks the front door opens and finds it unlocked. Guilt fills him as he closes it behind him. Was Eren really under that much stress for him to forget to lock the door? Fortunately, the house seems to be in order. Nothing seems to be stolen.

 

He doesn’t ask Eren for directions, the latter too much in pain to focus on anything other than his ankle. Besides, it should be easy enough. Levi ventures upstairs into the second floor, noticing four doors. One of them has two posters of the popular band _NoName_ , a band which Levi doesn’t really find any interest in, and surmises it to be Eren’s room. He kicks it open and instantly backtracks when he sees just how messy it is.

 

No way is he going to leave Eren in that pigsty.

 

Levi goes to the room opposite it, gently kicking it open as well. It’s remarkably clean, except for the dust gathering on various pieces of furniture. Judging by the pale colours of the room, this _has_ to be Mikasa’s room, so Levi leaves it alone too. He doesn’t want Eren’s sister to beat his ass for entering her room without permission.

 

The door nearest to Mikasa’s room leads to the bathroom, so Levi, desperate to put Eren down so he can fix him already, kicks open the door that’s furthest from the rooms. It’s dusty and it makes him want to cough, but he spots a queen-sized bed and Eren’s comfort overtakes his need for cleanliness.

 

He carefully lays Eren down, noticing how Eren crawls to the head of the bed and hugs the pillows, burying his face into them.

 

“I’ll be right back,” Levi says, dashing down to the kitchen to get a few supplies – a clean hand towel, some ice cubes and a rubber band. A quick trip to the bathroom also provides Levi with a first aid kit, in case he needs it, before it returns.

 

Eren’s sitting upright, his injured leg stretched out in front of him while his other leg stays tucked underneath his body. He says nothing as Levi sets to work, removing Eren’s shoes and socks (something which Levi had berated himself for for forgetting to do immediately) and securing the ice cubes in the towel with the band. It takes a while for the water to seep through the cloth, and he hisses when Levi presses it against his injury.

 

“I’m really sorry,” Levi starts. “I just … I didn’t want you to leave. And it caused this injury. It’s all my fault.”

 

Eren doesn’t say anything, simply because he doesn’t know what to say? ‘It’s all right’? ‘Mistakes happen’? ‘You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself’? Levi’s right – if he hadn’t tried to stop Eren, then Eren would have been simply camping out in Armin’s place and he wouldn’t have a twisted ankle.

 

“Erwin and Hange … are my friends.”

 

Eren subtly raises an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

 

“I told you to hear me out,” Levi says simply, pressing the towel to another area. When Eren hisses, he lessens the pressure. “They’re working in Utopia, but I can’t tell you what they work as.”

 

“Probably because they’re working in the prostitute market,” Eren spits.

 

Levi glances up at him, ice in his eyes. “Eren, would you just –” He cuts himself off and sighs, focusing back on Eren’s ankle. “I can’t tell you because it’s a secret. And no, they’re _not_ working in any illegal means of business,” he eyes Eren.

 

“How are you friends, then?” Eren decides to humour Levi, partly because he wants to find chances to antagonise him for all the pain’s he’s given him that night, and partly because he just wants to hear it. He’s curious about Levi’s past. He’s heard a lot from Kenny, so he should hear it from the main source as well.

 

“Hange, that bitch, spilled water on me, and as an apology, took me out for dinner, where she made me pay for everything.” Eren can’t see Levi’s expression, but he can hear fondness in his voice. He and Hange must really be close. “She and Erwin are together now, and they’re like overbearing parents who make you question your life choices.”

 

Eren feels something heavy lift off his shoulders. So Erwin and Levi are not an item, probably never in the first place. He swallows and ducks his head. Why does he feel so happy about this? He shouldn’t care at all.

 

“They mean well,” Levi continues, dabbing along Eren’s ankle now. The pain’s still there, but it has lessened. “They really do. And I can’t bear to hear anyone hurting them.”

 

“Including me?” Eren whispers.

 

Levi finally looks up, and something in Eren’s eyes tells him that the context in the question is different. He rests a cold hand on Eren’s, hoping that his eye are projecting nothing but sincerity and the truth. “I can’t bear if _you’re_ hurting as well, Eren. It would _kill_ me.”

 

“What if it was you?” Eren sobs, crying for what feels like the hundredth time. He doesn’t want to cry anymore, but he can’t help it. He feels so weak in front of Levi. “What if you’re the one who hurt me?”

 

Levi takes his hand and brings it to his hand, closing his eyes as he presses a kiss on his knuckles. “I already had …” he murmurs. “But not in the way you think. Never in the way you think.”

 

“And what _is_ the way I think?”

 

Levi opens his mouth to answer when Eren lets out a small mewl of pain. He jerks back when he realises that he’s been subconsciously pressing Eren’s foot into the bed. “Sorry, sorry,” he quickly apologises. “Let’s finish this first, okay? We can continue talking afterwards.”

 

Eren nods in agreement as Levi pulls out a roll of bandages from the first aid kit. He knows that his ankle’s twisted and would heal in time, so there won’t be any need for medicine or extremities, but he’s still grateful when Levi carefully but firmly wraps his ankle. He must have had loads of practice on himself, when he was younger.

 

“This is my parents’ room,” Eren says quietly. Levi pauses briefly but continues to work, knowing that he just wants to be heard. “I always feel sad when I come in here, but now I’m sad for a different reason.” He sniffs and bows his head. “I don’t want to be sad whenever I come here anymore.”

 

Levi still doesn’t say anything, biting his lip. Once done, he packs up, leaving momentarily to dump the melting ice wrapped in the hand towel in the sink, before he hovers uncertainly by the doorjamb. “Are you hungry?”

 

Eren shakes his head and pulls his legs closer to himself. Even though he still feels pain, Levi had done a good job in wrapping up his ankle, so he can move it a bit more now. “Sit down, please. We need to talk.”

 

“We’re already talking.” Levi sits next to Eren anyway, leaving a considerable amount of space between them.

 

Eren would have shot Levi a glare for the cliché sentence, but he can see that Levi isn’t joking at all. So he clears his throat. “Levi … what are we?”

 

“This again?”

 

“Yes, this again!” Eren frowns. “You never answered me properly.”

 

“I did –”

 

“You changing the topic to saying that I should love you _isn’t_ a proper answer!” Eren snaps.

 

“Well, if I’m being honest, now you’re confusing the fuck out of me,” Levi glares. “What the fuck do you want, Eren?”

 

“I want you to tell me the truth!” Eren cries out as tears run down his cheeks. He angrily wipes them away. “No more vague sentences, no more answers and stories that end halfway without having a point in the first place!” He sniffs and his voice becomes softer. “I want to know … what you are.”

 

The look of conflict is evident on Levi’s face. It’s like he’s begging to just let it spill to Eren, but at the same time, he doesn’t want to tell him. “Do you really want to know?”

 

Eren scoots closer, his eyes wide and shining with plead. “Yes. _Please_.”

 

Levi sighs and nods. “Okay. Okay.” He takes a deep breath. “Eren, I’m –”

 

“Oi, oi,” a voice interrupts from somewhere behind them. “Don’t go tellin’ every pretty boy what you do, midget.”

 

They whirl around and see Kenny sitting lazily on the window, fedora tilted forward and knife twirling in the air. Was he in the house the whole time? The windows can only be locked on the inside, so Kenny _had_ to have been hiding in here the whole time to be able to open it.

 

Eren gasps and Levi jumps to his feet, gritting his teeth. “What the fuck are you doing here, Kenny?!”

 

Kenny shrugs. “Makin’ sure your secret ain’t revealed.”

 

Levi narrows his eyes, though Eren can see by the way his fists are slightly shaking that he’s slightly nervous. Scared, probably.

 

“What secret?” Levi manages to grit out.

 

“Can’t tell ya that, can I?” Kenny grins playfully. “Else Green Eyes here will hear it.”

 

“H-how did you get in here?” Eren squeaks out.

 

“Wasn’t hard. Next time ya wanna go somewhere far away, lock the front door, ya idiot.”

 

Eren’s breathing quickens. He’s so stupid!

 

He tries to hide, and Levi, noticing Eren from the corner of his eyes, moves in front of him, acting as a shield in case Kenny attacks.

 

The action doesn’t escape Kenny’s eyes and he hoots gleefully. “Oi, find yourself a lover, ah? Come on, introduce him to me, ya runt.”

 

“I don’t think so,” Levi glares.

 

“Don’t be so harsh, ah?” Kenny pushes himself to a standing position, prompting Levi to take a step back towards Eren. “Ya know what? I’ll just go greet him myself.”

 

“You fucking dare,” Levi spits out.

 

“Come on, get outta the way, midget,” Kenny continues to taunt as he steps towards them.

 

“Eren, when I say now, I want you to run,” Levi whispers to him, gaze still trained on his uncle. “Try your best to run with your ankle. I’ll take him down and you go to wherever you feel safe. Go to Armin’s house if you have to.”

 

Eren nods hurriedly, though he squeaks when Kenny’s in front of Levi now.

 

“Didn’t I teach you manners, boy?” Kenny cackles.

 

It happens in a split second – one moment Levi’s standing to protect Eren, the next he’s slouched over, a hand on his stomach.

 

“LEVI!” Eren screams, unsure of what just happened.

 

“Eren,” Levi pants, looking back as he coughs out blood.

 

“Don’t discuss plans in front of your target,” Kenny finishes.

 

Eren hitches in a breath when Kenny pulls his hand back, revealing a blood-stained knife. Eren covers his mouth with his hands, eyes wide with terror and breaths coming out in short puffs when Levi collapses to the ground, blood oozing from his shirt.

 

Levi was stabbed. Levi was stabbed. _Levi was stabbed_.

 

Only one word registers in his mind.

 

_Run._

 

Eren bolts from the room, yelling when a sharp pain zips up his leg. He falls to the ground and feels the sole of a heavy boot land on his head.

 

“Don’t move,” Kenny says in a low voice, his knife pressed against Eren’s neck.

 

“EREN!”

 

“Shut up, ya runt!” Kenny hollers over his shoulder as he bends Eren’s right leg. He unties the bandage around Eren’s ankle, the latter crying out in pain when Kenny lets his leg free and it slams back to the ground. The sickening crunch of his bone hitting the wooden floor only tells Eren that his ankle’s bent more.

 

“ _EREN!_ ” Levi screams again.

 

Kenny pays him no mind this time, whistling to himself as he grabs Eren’s hands and ties them behind his back with the bandage. When it’s secure, he gets off of Eren, kicking him until he’s facing Levi.

 

Eren looks like a mess, bruises on his skin and eyes red from crying too much. Levi isn’t faring any better, sweat dripping from his forehead and hand and clothes splattered with blood. Kenny had stabbed him really deep.

 

“You’ve gotten careless, Shorty,” Kenny sneers, reeling a foot back and delivering a mighty kick to Levi’s already opened wound, relishing in Levi’s grunt of pain. He nudges Levi’s shirt up and presses the tip of his dirty boot inside the wound, squeezing his way in and ripping open the wound bit by bit.

 

“STOP!” Eren screams when Levi continuously yells out.

 

“You’re a noisy one, ain’t ya?” Kenny laughs, though he does stop. He kicks Eren in the face, smearing Levi’s blood on his cheek.

 

“EREN!” Levi yells, trying to crawl closer to him despite the wound. Every time he moves forward, more blood trickles out, but he doesn’t care about himself. Not when he’s got Eren to save.

 

“L-Levi,” Eren coughs, struggling against the binds. He yelps when Kenny kicks him in the face again, this time punching him in the stomach as well. He collapses to the ground with a groan, tears of hurt and fear spilling from his eyes as he stubbornly tries to focus on Levi.

 

“Ya better not move, ya fuckin’ brat,” Kenny snickers, before grabbing a handful of his hair and roughly pulling him up. “Why’re ya still going for Levi, ah? Ain’t he the one who raped ya?”

 

The question makes Eren’s head spin, and he doesn’t know what to believe anymore. It sounds like a confirmation, so why _is_ he still struggling to go toward Levi? Shouldn’t he run away from him? Shouldn’t he call the cops on him? That’s why Kenny’s here, right? To take Levi away?

 

But if that’s the case, why did Kenny stab Levi and tie up Eren? What is his motive here? It’s evident Kenny doesn’t care what would happen to Levi, since he plunged a knife in his _nephew’s_ damn stomach, but why did he have to tie him up if he’s going after Levi?

 

Eren’s so conflicted, his gaze dropping to the floor as his head begins to pound. Nothing’s making sense.

 

“Kenny, you bastard!” Levi growls. “Stop messing with Eren’s head! Leave him alone!”

 

“And let those eyes of his out of my sight?” Kenny snorts. He tightens his grip on Eren’s hair, the latter wincing. “No way.”

 

“Eren, break free from his hold,” Levi pleads, begging Eren to look at him. Eren’s eyes stay on the floor. “I know you can do it. Come to me.”

 

“Would you believe the words of a murderer?” Kenny continues to taunt Eren. “The words of a liar? The words of a rapist?”

 

“Stop putting lies into his head!” Levi roars, pounding a fist on the floor. “I never raped anyone!”

 

That brings Eren out of his reverie. He looks up at Levi, eyes wide and jaw slightly slack. Everything slows down and everything goes quiet. “… What?” he whispers.

 

“Ah, shit,” Kenny tsks, shaking his head. “Guess Eren’s gotta learn the truth now, ah?”

 

Eren cranes his neck back as much as he can, confusion swirling in his eyes. “Truth? Wh-what truth?” he asks Kenny. “What’s he talking about? What does he mean?”

 

“Are ya stupid or somethin’, kid?” Kenny cocks a brow. “He means what he means. Levi never raped you that night.”

 

Eren blinks, heart in his throat. Levi … _didn’t_  rape him? Then who …

 

Something sinister glints in Kenny’s eyes as he leans forward with a nasty grin.

 

“ _I_ did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #PlotTwistYo. Also I’m gonna be watching Deadpool later on, so I’ll be back late. Leave lots of comments while I’m gone, okay<3
> 
> I just realised that the summary’s somewhat misleading, so I changed it, because just before I posted the first chapter, I realised that I had no summary and panicked and wrote whatever. I forgot to change it after, but it _did_ add to the plot twist.
> 
> And now that the plot twist is revealed, I changed the summary. And I also changed the tags, btw. There are a lot more.
> 
> See? Levi’s the good guy all along. To all of you who may had an inkling that it’s true, considering how his ‘rape’ on Eren and his actions towards him the days that pass don’t match up as a rapist at all, then kudos. You were absolutely right! Now you have bragging rights. And to all of you who thought Levi was the bad guy, that’s perfectly fine as well. After all, I lead you all to believe it as so. I was really worried if I gave it away in the previous chapters, but no one seemed to pick it up yet (at least from the comments), so I’m glad I was safe.
> 
> If you read through the previous chapters, I have _never_ explicitly stated that Levi was Eren’s rapist. I purposely made his dialogue with Erwin (and Hange) vague to give you all the false idea that he raped Eren, and I didn’t dive into specifics. I really hope you don’t feel betrayed at this. It’s my first time writing a plot twist, so I hope I did it correctly.
> 
> In one of the following chapters, I’m going to wrap up all the loose ends and go into explicit detail of Levi’s earlier conversations (like when he said that he ‘didn’t snap out of it’ in the previous chapter, or that he ‘was at fault that Eren was raped’), and maybe even Erwin’s conversations, so that you all, and Eren, would know what he means.
> 
> Also, the opening note in the first chapter was regarding the original fanfic, where the victim fell in love with his rapist. It’s _not_ related to this fic at all, but if I said that, I would give everything away. But despite that, you should still take the note to heart. DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR RAPIST, OKAY.


	7. Truth, Trust, and Rescue Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Internet’s down at the moment. The only reason why I’m able to upload this is because right now, I’m in a coffee shop with Wi-Fi. So when I get home, I’ll be Internet-less again. Oh, the horror! So don’t expect any replies to your comments for the next few days. I’m really sorry.
> 
>  **Edit:** Bet you guys would love that, though. You hate my personality so you don’t care what I write besides the fanfic.

“I …” Eren stops breathing. “ _What_?”

 

“Ya deaf or somethin’, ya brat?” Kenny asks gleefully. He looks proud that Eren didn’t manage to piece it all together. “You believe lies but not the truth? Even when it’s blatantly said to ya?”

 

“But …” Eren’s eyes dart to Levi, the latter’s expression controlled, as if unsure on how to react to the situation right now. “But Levi –”

 

“For fuck’s sake, kid,” Kenny sighs. “The midget’s fuckin’ ten centimetres shorter than you. Do you _really_ think he could’ve hovered over you that night?”

 

And suddenly, those memories become even clearer. He remembers catching a glimpse of a fedora, he remembers how rough and calloused the hands were, he remembers how his body was practically dwarfed compared to his assailant, he remembers how much lower and huskier the voice was, he remembers how cold and harsh the touches were.

 

He remembers it wasn’t Levi.

 

Suddenly, Eren hitches in a breath, head and heart pounding. He was just so traumatised from the event that he never actually took the details into account. If he hadn’t been so preoccupied with himself, if he hadn’t been too scared to try and remember that night, then he wouldn’t have assumed that Levi was his rapist.

 

Levi was _far_ too nice during their encounters, and never once did he look at him with a look of hunger or lust. He respected Eren’s boundaries and even patched up his ankle. No rapist in the world would treat their victim so nicely. If anything, Levi would have raped him again when his ankle twisted. He would have taken advantage of Eren’s disability.

 

But he didn’t. Levi showed nothing but care, and he was quick to pick up on Eren’s hesitance and insecurities. He never called him out on it and he was constantly patient with Eren.

 

Eren shoots Levi a terrified glance, hoping that through his eyes, he can convey his apologies and guilt for even _thinking_ that someone as nice as Levi would do such a thing. He’s … he’s such an _idiot_.

 

“Don’t know why the little runt didn’t try and stop me,” Kenny says, Eren tearing his stare from Levi to focus on Kenny.

 

This sends an alarmed look to show on Levi’s face. “Kenny, you bastard!” he roars, ignoring the pain in his abdomen. “Stop!”

 

“After all,” Kenny ignores Levi, “ _he_ was there too.”

 

If Eren earned a dollar every time his world stopped for the past few days, he’d probably be a millionaire by now. “What?” His expression now shifts to confusion. There’s a hint of betrayal, too, but Eren tries not to assume things again. After all, he assumed Levi was his rapist, and look where that got him.

 

“Did ya know,” Kenny hums, “that Shorty over there’s assistin’ the DCF? The Detective Crime Force? His shitty friends Smith and Zoë are the head of my case in there.”

 

Well, that just gives Levi a butt-load of respect from Eren, but what does that have to do with anything? Eren suddenly feels like he had swallowed ice. Levi’s earlier statement of him unable to tell what his two friends’ professions are springs back to mind, and Eren thoughtlessly accused them of working in the prostitution industry.

 

Geez, when will Eren ever think before he speaks?

 

“Ya may not have known, ya brat, but there were several cases of rape in The Underground. No one fuckin’ cared, since it was the City of Poverty.” He grabs a handful of Eren’s hair and pulls him close. “Levi had a suspicion it was me, since the more public rapes stopped ever since I left for Mitras.”

 

“Kenny, I swear to God –”

 

Kenny merely ignores Levi. “He managed to get enough cash to drag him and Kuchel out of The Underground and landed himself a nice place in Utopia. Don’t know how, don’t care. But I knew he was followin’ me, yeah? So I laid low. Didn’t do anythin’ for five months. And then I saw _you_.”

 

Eren stops breathing. “Huh?”

 

“I was actually planning on getting back on the game,” Kenny laughs, “especially since I made friends in the government. They all know what I’ve been doing and they don’t care. They even wanted to pitch in!”

 

“That’s horrible,” Eren whimpers. The government really is filled with nothing but corrupt pigs.

 

“I saw ya, pulled ya into the alley and fucked ya proper and everything,” Kenny says casually, as if raping people was what he does every day. It probably is, that bastard. “Shorty over there saw the whole thing.”

 

Eren quickly looks over to Levi, the latter glaring so hard at Kenny Eren’s surprised he hasn’t been reduced to ashes yet.

 

“Damn you, Kenny,” Levi growls.

 

“What’s that, midget?” Kenny calls out, dragging Eren by the hair and ignoring his pained mewls. He spots the first aid kit near the bed and kicks it far away from Levi, lest he patches himself up. “Ya got somethin’ to say to the brat? Well, here!” He lifts Eren by the hair and holds him in front of Levi. “Tell him everything ya wanted him to know!”

 

Eren looks positively terrified. His face is a mess and bruises mar that beautiful skin of his. The ocean has practically become a desert by now, his eyes red and puffy. Levi stares at him, feeling indescribable pain. The wound on his stomach is nothing compared to the one in his heart.

 

“Eren,” he can only gasp, wanting nothing more than to hold him tight and never let go. Eren deserved none of this. He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way. His soul is kind and his presence is beautiful.

 

Why is the world such a cruel place for such an innocent person?

 

“Levi,” Eren whimpers, his face crumpling as tears gather in his eyes.

 

“I … I am _so_ sorry.” Levi’s voice breaks and he tries to keep it steady. “I watched you get raped, but I didn’t step in. I wanted to make sure if it was Kenny. I wanted to help so badly … I wanted to stop, but I needed _proof_ , not just some eyewitness, because he works in the government and they would definitely dismiss such flimsy evidence. But … but I didn’t snap out of it. I was too preoccupied with my revenge on Kenny that I didn’t do anything.”

 

He shakily reaches out and rests a bloodied hand on Eren’s cheek. Eren hitches in a slight breath when he sees tears in Levi’s own eyes. His face that betrayed no emotion is now scrunched up in regret, pain and guilt.

 

Levi’s crying for him.

 

“If only I had done something,” Levi whispers, “if only I stopped Kenny … you wouldn’t be in this mess.”

 

Eren’s head feels lighter at Levi’s admission, but he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t know what to _feel_. Too many things all at once. It makes Eren want to scream his throat raw. He yelps when he’s suddenly yanked back, Levi’s blood smearing on his cheek.

 

“All right, that’s enough,” Kenny grumbles. “Didn’t want ya to get all sappy.” He lifts Eren up and hauls him over his shoulder, pulling out a gun from his pocket.

 

Eren’s breath quickens when he notices the weapon. Oh God, if he had shot Levi instead of stabbing him … Eren was so thankful Kenny didn’t do that.

 

“Kenny!” Levi yells. His voice is still steely, still strong and commanding despite wavering a few moments ago. “Kenny, where are you taking him?!”

 

“Back for one last round of fun,” Kenny aims for the door and shoots it, Eren’s scream of surprise masked by the sound of the shot. “Before I dispose of him _permanently_. The brat knows too much.”

 

Eren begins to whimper in fear. He can’t speak, but he’s so, _so_ scared. He doesn’t want to die. At least, not until he apologises to Levi. He deserves that much.

 

“Kenny!” Levi yells again, this time his voice slightly hysterical. “Kenny, please, don’t!”

 

“Since when do ya beg, midget?” Kenny sniggers. “Never taught ya that. I’ll keep ya alive this time, Shorty. Ya make the chase quite fun.” With a tip of his fedora, he leaves the bedroom, leaving Levi behind.

 

Levi desperately grasps onto Eren’s cries for help, Eren’s cries of his name. He tries to drag himself towards the door, but every time he does, he feels light-headed. His breath becomes slightly panicked when he doesn’t hear Eren anymore.

 

Levi needs help. _Now_.

 

He struggles to reach into his pocket for his phone, but the pain becomes so strong from his movements that he stills, panting as his vision swims in front of him. He curses when he finds his pocket empty, realising his phone must have fallen in Hange’s car.

 

Great. He’ll die, Kenny’ll probably rape Eren again and Eren would be even more traumatised before he’s killed. This is what Erwin probably meant when Levi called him earlier today, when he asked if he wanted Eren to be ‘traumatised now or later’.

 

Oh God. Oh God, Eren’s going to die.

 

Levi feels so hopeless. He’s just sprawled out in the room of Eren’s parents and he can’t do anything to save the beautiful boy. He’s going to die and Eren’s going to die. Levi will never forgive himself. Even if he’s granted entrance to heaven, he’ll decline and throw himself into the fiery pits of hell, and that’s not even enough of a punishment for him.

 

The sounds of footsteps thundering through the house alerts him, and he stills himself just in case it’s one of Kenny’s lackeys. Or worse, one of the people he used to work with. Which is something he doesn’t really need right now. The wound is deep and he can hardly move, but if he concentrates enough, he can still attack back if needed.

 

“Levi!” Hange gasps as she bursts into the room, instantly tending to him.

 

Levi breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank fuck,” he groans, closing his eyes. “How’d you know –”

 

“Your phone was in my car,” Hange explains as she notices the first aid kit near the door. She reaches over and grabs it, ripping it open and dumping out the contents onto the floor. “Erwin said that we always need our phones on our bodies, so I had to drive back to return it to you. The front door was open, and there were definite signs of struggle all over the house, so of _course_ I had to investigate.” She can only bandage Levi up for now. He can only get proper treatment at the hospital.

 

“What took you so long, you bastard?”

 

“I don’t exactly live here, Levi,” Hange frowns, though there’s slight amusement on her face. “I got lost, okay? And where’s Eren?”

 

“Taken,” Levi coughs when Hange carefully sits him up and removes his shirt. “Kenny was in here the whole time. Kidnapped him … and brought him somewhere.”

 

Hange hesitates but continues to wrap Levi up. “Eren knows?”

 

“The bastard told him,” Levi growls before hissing when Hange presses careful fingers around the hole. “Careful. Kenny poked the tip of his dirty ass shoe inside.”

 

“How horrible,” Hange mutters. “We can only hope this wound doesn’t get infected.” She makes quick work of Levi and ties up the bandage. “No sudden movements on the way to the hospital, all right?”

 

“No,” Levi mutters. “We go after Kenny now.”

 

“Are you insane?” Hange gasps. “You need to get that wound fixed!”

 

“He has Eren!” Levi roars into her face. “He’s going to rape Eren and he’s going to kill him!” He immediately looks away, regret on his face. He didn’t mean to shout at Hange. She’s just trying to help. “I just … I want Eren safe. I don’t want anything bad to happen to him. Not anymore.”

 

Hange softens. “Levi …”

 

“Please,” Levi interrupts, grabbing her hands and looking imploringly in her eyes. “ _Please_. Let’s go after Eren.”

 

Hange takes a few moments to respond. She sighs and disentangles her hands from Levi’s, standing up. “We go to the hospital first.”

 

“Han—!”

 

“You can’t really expect me to babysit you, can I?” Hange asks with a soft smile. “A quick shot of morphine and adrenaline. I don’t approve of this, but we need you in tip-top shape if you want to go after your boyfriend, right?”

 

While Levi isn’t quite sure that that term should be pinned to Eren, he still smiles in relief when Hange supports him and helps him walk. “Thank you, Hange.”

 

“Anytime.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Even when his mouth is gagged by a filthy rag, Eren’s yells do not cease. It annoys him when Kenny only becomes more amused, even whistling in time with his muffled screams. Eren would have stopped a long time ago, because while knowing that he is going to be raped again, _and_ killed, is _not_ a fucking game, he still holds out hope that someone would hear him and come to his rescue.

 

Well, if they can hear him from inside a car, that is.

 

He’s really hoping it’ll be Levi to be his knight in shining armour, but seeing how Kenny had screwed him over, it’s a big possibility that he can’t save him. And Eren suspects that even if he _had_ brought his phone with him, Kenny would have immediately discarded it, if he hadn’t already done so in the house.

 

Right now, Eren needs to escape. He needs to get out of here.

 

“It’s no use, brat,” Kenny chuckles. “Try squirmin’ all you want, but those binds ain’t gettin’ anywhere.”

 

Eren glares at Kenny, but his glare fades when he looks around, not recognising where they are. They have definitely gone past the residential areas of Sina as trees and open fields are all Eren can see. Are they entering Klorva? That’s the only countryside Eren remembers situated in Sina, since there aren’t that many. But he hasn’t seen The Forest of Giant Trees, so maybe they’re going somewhere else.

 

Kenny stops the car and slams the door behind him when he leaves. Eren doesn’t even have time to think, not when his side opens up and Kenny hauls him over his shoulder again. Eren squeaks in pain and glances around. ‘Somewhere else’ proves to be a totally unrecognisable area. There are gorgeous buildings and homes everywhere, the fields completely gone. Where the hell is he?

 

Kenny whistles as he greets some of the police officers. They greet him back, sniggering at the sight of Eren over his shoulder, and eyes blazing with something dark. Eren feels a shiver run down his spine. There’s no mistaking it – their eyes are filled with lust.

 

Oh God, Eren needs to escape.

 

Kenny walks down several streets, stopping in front of a tall, metal gate. “Well, here we are.”

 

Eren cranes his neck to try and see where exactly ‘here’ is. Kenny unceremoniously dumps him to the floor and he cries out in pain. Honestly, Kenny should’ve just put him down gently, especially with his broken ankle. Eren would almost admit that he prefers being carried than just left on the floor.

 

But now that he’s facing the gate properly, Eren can see past the grilles. He sees nothing but stairs, actually, the end of the corridor sharply turning to the right. Is Kenny going to push him  down or something? Eren sincerely hopes not. It seems like there’s a lot of stairs.

 

Kenny cackles as he opens the gate. It opens easily, no lock to keep anyone from going in or out. The hinges are rusty and loud, and Eren winces when it creaks. Kenny hooks his hands under Eren’s armpits and lifts him up again. He doesn’t carry him this time, though, making him stand on his own.

 

Eren wobbles dangerously, all his weight on his good leg.

 

Kenny just grins down at him. “Well? Go on in. Nothing’s stoppin’ ya. I bet you’re just _dyin’_ to enter, ah?”

 

Oh God. Oh God, Kenny wants him to _walk_?

 

“We ain’t got all day, brat,” Kenny continues to leer. “Now move it before I kick ya down.”

 

With heavily trembling legs, Eren takes a step and almost cries out in pain. He grits his teeth and continues the trek down, a small whimper escaping him every time he lands on his broken ankle. Kenny just urges him to go faster, snickering when Eren’s limps become more prominent. They round the corner and Eren stops momentarily at the sight. He winces when Kenny shoves him a little harder.

 

At the end of the stairs is an open arch, giving Eren the full view. The buildings are much smaller compared to the ones upstairs, and they’re all dirty and on the verge of collapsing. Several people mill around the streets, all looking depressed as they meander about with their meaningless lives.

 

There aren’t much kids on the streets, but the ones that are look worse for wear, resembling skeletons more than actual human beings. Eren even spots a couple of them distracting a merchant and another one stealing some bread from his cart.

 

What a sickening place to be in.

 

He flinches greatly when Kenny places a rough hand on his shoulder. “Welcome, kid,” Kenny whispers, “to the midget’s home.”

 

‘The midget’s home’? Realisation dawns on Eren and he stares at the place with a newfound awe. This is … _this_ is The Underground? _This_ is where Levi lived? Eren now understands Levi’s need for cleanliness. If _he_ had lived here and managed to escape, he’d want everything to be clean as much as possible.

 

“Let’s give you a nice tour, ah?” Kenny whispers as he nears Eren.

 

 _Oh God,_ Eren thinks desperately as he presses himself against a wall. _Oh God, Levi. Please save me. I’m so scared._

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Damn it, Hange!” Levi roars, squirming against the ropes. “Can’t you go any faster?!”

 

“Look, I’m already pushing the speed limit, okay?” Hange says. “We’re part of the DCF, we’re _supposed_ to be a good example for the citizens!”

 

“And that’ll just give the police more reason to apprehend us,” Erwin explains in a calm voice.

 

“Fuck that!” Levi yells.

 

Hange sighs. Maybe giving him an extra shot of adrenaline wasn’t the right thing to do. With all that adrenaline running in his system, Levi’s sure to gun Kenny down the moment he sees him. But be as it may, they’re nowhere near Kenny, and the thought of Eren being closer to danger with every second adds to his agitation. So with nothing else to distract him, Levi’s taking out his stress on his two friends.

 

It’s all thanks to Erwin for tying Levi up before they inject him. If Levi was let free, who knows what he’ll do. Probably kill them.

 

“Eren’s gonna be fine, right?” Armin sniffles, eyes filled with tears.

 

Levi stops moving immediately. In his fit of rage, he had completely forgotten that Hange had called Armin up and told him of the current situation. Armin was with his boyfriend Jean at that time, and since Jean and Eren are friends, Erwin decided to bring him along as well. Levi refused vehemently at first, saying that it’s incredibly risky, but Erwin instantly shot it down, saying that they need more manpower, especially since, technically, only he and Hange are on Kenny’s case.

 

“Don’t worry, Ar,” Jean says soothingly, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and bringing him close. “He’s Eren. It’ll take a lot more than one slimy bastard to bring him down.”

 

“Especially if that slimy bastard was his rapist?” Levi says, looking at them both.

 

Armin and Jean look at him with wide eyes. “Wh-what?” Armin asks in a trembling voice. “What are you talking about? What rapist?”

 

Levi stills for a moment before forcing a breath out. Why did he even _think_ that Eren would tell Armin that he’d been raped? He didn’t even tell Levi, and it was through Levi’s own heartless method that he was able to confirm that Eren was the one who’d been raped.

 

“Eren …” he says in a low voice, leaning forward. “He’s been raped. By my uncle.”

 

“ _What_?” Armin whisper-screams. He knows of Kenny, ever since Levi gotten drunk from Finals stress once, and spilled nearly everything to Armin. Well, to his crotch, but still.

 

“I know your uncle’s sick, but _Jesus_ ,” Jean frowns. Armin must have told him about Kenny, because Levi and Jean had never exchanged words once. He didn’t even know that Armin has a boyfriend, much less in a relationship. Either their relationship is recent or Levi hasn’t been spending time with Armin as of late.

 

With the way things have been going, it’s definitely the latter.

 

“Yeah,” Levi nods once. “Kenny has him, and he’s going to do the same thing to Eren.” The look in his eyes harden. “Only this time, he’s going to kill him.”

 

Armin gasps and Jean stares with wide eyes. “No way …” Jean says weakly. “You’re …” he swallows, “you’re joking, right?”

 

“Why in all hells would I joke about this?” Levi grits out, his eyes flashing. He looks away and sighs. He shouldn’t get pissed at Jean. If he were in Jean’s place, he wouldn’t want to believe it either.

 

It’s just that he’s so _angry_. Eren had been dropping clues on thinking that Levi was his rapist left and right. It was made even clearer just two hours ago, when he said he didn’t want to fall in love with a rapist. If he had realised it earlier and confronted Eren about this, then Kenny wouldn’t have gotten to him. Eren would be safe in his arms and not in the face of death.

 

“Oh God.” Armin’s whimpering brings him back to their situation. “Oh God, we have to save him.” He grips Jean’s arm tightly. “We _need_ to save him. Mikasa – she’s been a mess ever since their parents died. Eren’s all she has left. If Eren’s gone, she’ll –”

 

Jean hushes him by pulling him into a hug, letting Armin soak his shirt with his tears. He sends a pleading look at Levi and Levi understands. He _needs_ to save Eren. Not just for himself, but for his friends and for his sister. Because what is he, really? They’ve only known each other for less than five days. That’s hardly enough compared to the years of friendship Eren has with his friends, and it’s definitely laughable in comparison to the siblinghood Eren and Mikasa shares.

 

Speaking of Mikasa, Levi has yet to meet her. She sounds absolutely delightful and, just like him, protective of her brother. From what Eren’s told him, she seems like a bright one. She sounds like a beautiful person too, just like Kuchel. Levi would love to bring Eren to meet her as well. Probably not in their house, _yet_ , but maybe in a restaurant where they can get to know each other.

 

Levi stops his thoughts just there. Is he … already planning the ‘meeting the family’ stage? He and Eren have not established anything serious, if they _had_ established anything at all. But Eren had said (sobbed, more like it) his confession to him, so that counts for something, right?

 

 _But you are,_ Levi remembers Eren saying. _You’re so special._ He looked so beautiful when the setting sun shone on him, like an angel had descended in front of him. The way his tanned skin was accentuated from the orange light, the way his tears glistened as they rolled down his cheeks, the way his oceanic eyes sparkled even more from the light.

 

Whatever he feels for Eren, it’s certainly not platonic anymore. Well, it definitely isn’t, considering he crossed that line when he kissed Eren.

 

“Don’t worry, Armin,” Levi says. Armin pulls away from Jean just enough for him to look at Levi. Levi’s staring into Armin’s eyes, trying to convey that his next words are as sincere as they can be. “I _will_ save Eren. Even if it’s the last thing I do.”

 

“Don’t say that, please,” Armin sniffs. “It won’t, okay? But …” he cracks a weak smile. “Thank you.”

 

Screw it. He’s saving Eren for himself, too. And when he kicks Kenny’s ass and puts him behind bars for good, he’ll definitely have to tell Eren whatever he’s feeling.

 

The L-word may or may not be included.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Eren grunts when he’s thrown against some sacks. He’s unsure what’s inside of them, but by the squelching they emitted when his back made contact with them, Eren’s a hundred percent sure he doesn’t want to find out.

 

Kenny had dragged him deep into The Underground. Eren had made sure to keep a watchful eye on everything – from brothels to pubs to even the patterns on the stone floor – so that when he escapes, he’ll know which path to take. He was taken into an old warehouse, where there were dangerous-looking people filling the first floor (all who had greeted Kenny, so Eren filed in the fact that they’re friends and he definitely has to avoid them) before Kenny had dragged him up to the second floor.

 

“All nice and comfy, are we?” Kenny grins down at him.

 

With the thick strip of cloth covering his mouth, Eren’s voice is completely muffled. He doesn’t know why Kenny’s brought him here, but anything to keep him from being raped and possibly dying.

 

“Ya must be wondering, ‘Oi! Why aren’t I dead yet?’, right?” Kenny chuckles, pacing the room. “Well, that’s easy. The runt’s definitely gonna be lookin’ for ya, and I wanna have one last round of fun, ya see?”

 

The look of disgust must have shown on Eren’s face, because Kenny throws his head back in laughter. “What, ya think I’m gonna fuck ’im? Ya nuts or somethin’?”

 

He pulls out a knife and flings it at Eren. Eren, torn between screaming and staying still, ultimately chooses to squeeze his eyes shut and bunch his shoulders up. He hears an odd sound near his left ear, like a mix of a squelch and a soft thump, and he hesitantly opens his eyes. The knife’s embedded into the sack just behind him, and Eren breathes a sigh of relief.

 

Kenny stalks forward and crouches down to Eren’s level, gripping Eren’s chin with one hand and the handle of the knife with the other. “I wanna fight with the midget before I slice his face off,” he says in a low voice. With a smirk, he drags the knife down the sack, the ripping sounding like a gunshot in the quiet room. He reaches into the tear and pulls out whatever’s inside.

 

Eren’s eyes go wide and his blood runs cold. The mutilated head of a corpse stares up at him, and Kenny mockingly says an _oops_ when he lets it slip and falls on Eren’s lap.

 

Even the rag can’t entirely muffle Eren’s scream.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hange has been driving for quite some time. Needless to say, it’s getting everyone agitated. Even Armin, whose patience never seems to reach an end, is on the verge of biting his fingernails off.

 

“Damn it, Hange!” Levi growls. The ropes had been taken off some time ago when he had calmed down considerably, a pathetic heap on the car floor. “Don’t tell me you’re lost!”

 

“So what if I am?” Hange pouts. “Besides, I don’t even know where we’re going.”

 

Levi stares. “You mean to tell me that you’ve been driving around for _nothing_?! I thought you had a plan when you just pulled me into the car! What if Eren’s dead by the time we reach … wherever we’re supposed to?!”

 

“Levi, calm down,” Erwin commands. “You won’t get anywhere by thinking irrationally. Take a deep breath.”

 

Levi huffs but slouches back in his seat. His stupid loyalty towards Erwin is going to be the death of him someday.

 

“Um, Levi …” Armin says hesitantly. “Did Kenny say anything before he left?”

 

“Yeah,” Levi furrows his brows as he tries to remember. “Something about keeping me alive, because I make the chase fun.”

 

“Then that means that Kenny _definitely_ wants you to follow him,” Erwin says. “He’s probably keeping Eren alive too.”

 

“How do you know?” Jean asks.

 

Through the rear-view mirror, they can see Erwin’s brows furrowing and his eyes sharpening. “… I have a hunch. He’s not going to do anything to Eren until Levi finds him, it seems.”

 

“Well,” Levi sighs, “how could I follow him if I don’t even know where he went to?”

 

“From his words,” Hange pitches in, “it sounds like he had already dropped a hint on where he’s going.”

 

“And since he said it so cryptically, it sounds as if it’s someplace you’ve already been to …” Armin nibbles on his lower lip. “Is that all he said? Is there anything else?”

 

“Uh … he said that he’s going ‘back for one last round of fun’ when I asked where he’s taking Eren.”

 

“Does that mean anything to you?” Armin asks.

 

“Kenny says lots of things that mean things to me,” Levi sighs. He runs a hand through his hair and huffs as he replays Kenny’s words. What the hell does Kenny mean by that? He’s not known for leaving clues. He prefers to say things right there and then.

 

He ignores Armin watching him carefully as he mulls over the words. Kenny is smart. _Too_ smart. It’s a right pain in the arse, but if it wasn’t for Kenny, then Levi might never get so far in life. As much as he hates to admit it. Levi crosses one leg over the other and folds his arms. Does that mean that he has to think like the crazy bastard? It’s worth a shot, seeing as they’ve come up with nothing but dead ends.

 

Someplace Levi’s already been to … He doubts Kenny’s talking about Shiganshina or Utopia, since it’s far too easy and the ‘chase’ wouldn’t be fun if it’s so short. Well, the other place Levi’s been to is –

 

Wait. Hold on a moment.

 

The only other place Levi’s been to would be The Underground. It makes a lot of sense, since he grew up there for more than half of his life. That _could_ be a possible place for Kenny to bring Eren. But The Underground’s so big. It’s even bigger than Mitras, as Mitras has forest borders and The Underground runs well beyond those borders.

 

“Hange,” he calls out, eyes not leaving the spot he had unconsciously focused on. “No sudden movements or sounds … but drive to Mitras. Now.”

 

Hange nods once and turns on her blinker. “Heading for Mitras.”

 

With Hange’s confirmation, Levi relaxes back in his seat, still not looking away from that spot. It’s that one sentence which bugs him the most. ‘Back for one last round of fun’ … what the hell does Kenny mean by that? Levi’s life in The Underground was never fun – it was absolute _hell_. But since he has to think like Kenny, then he has to pretend that, yes, murdering people under orders of someone with money _was_ fun.

 

So where would Levi have fun killing people? Oh, maybe _everywhere_ since he killed people in the _entirety_ of The Underground.

 

But there _has_ to be someplace which holds the most fun for Kenny, right? Where would –

 

Levi freezes when everything pieces itself together.

 

The Warehouse. _That’s_ where Kenny is. And if they’re lucky, that’s where he’s holding Eren. The Warehouse was where Kenny’s gang of misfits and his lackeys used to do everything – from simply hanging out to planning their hits. When Levi started working for Kenny, he was brought to The Warehouse and met the team he was supposed to be working with. He doesn’t remember them very well now, but he remembers his team had two other girls, one with ash brown hair and a catty smile and the other with blonde hair and a look of permanent disinterest on her face.

 

The second floor was where he and Kenny used to spar and store the dead bodies of their targets. Kenny had always stressed that it felt like home to him, and that it was always fun whenever he visited The Warehouse. Looks like Levi’s got their destination.

 

If Armin’s right, then they’re headed for The Warehouse.

 

“Hange, step on it,” Levi commands. “I think I know where to go.”

 

“You do?” Jean exclaims the same time Hange complies and breaks the rules (for once).

 

“Yeah,” Levi grunts. He turns to look at Armin and Jean. “You two know how to fight?”

 

“Uh …” Jean stammers, Armin shaking his head with visible fear on his face. “I only know how to punch, courtesy of Eren constantly starting fights with me. So. No.”

 

“Well, prepare to give your all in those punches,” Levi says. “Because I’ve got some old friends to meet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **[Edited]**
> 
> So when Levi’s being his blunt self, insulting people on a daily basis, it’s perfectly fine. Oh, yeah, it totally is. But when _I_ say one thing that’s really mild compared to what he always says, I should be thrown in the fiery pits of hell. 
> 
> Apparently, you guys are insulted by me calling Eren stupid. The original endnote was supposed to be taken with a grain of salt. After all, this is FANFICTION. NOTHING in here is real. Do you honestly think I would tell a person _in their face_ that they’re stupid for needing a tutor?
> 
> Because I do. In front of a mirror. I tell it to myself. I’m also being tutored because I’m dumb in specific aspects. I don’t sugarcoat what I say. That’s the way I am. I’ve always been this way. It’s true no matter how I look at it. I’m a fucking dumbass when it comes to Chemistry. Are you guys happy now?
> 
> You all don’t know what I’m like. The moment I let slip my true character online, I get criticisms everywhere. I don’t know what to do now to please you guys. Should I just pretend being something I’m not again? Or should I just not answer comments completely so that you guys won’t see how I really am? No author’s notes, no comments, nothing. Just the story and that’s it.
> 
> You guys _assume_ Levi was Eren’s rapist and wish fucking _**death**_ upon him (and Erwin and Hange) and it’s totally fine. I _jokingly_ say that Eren’s dumb — because I’m pointing out that I’m constantly bringing up the fact that Eren _himself_ is continuously calling himself stupid — and everyone’s up my ass.
> 
> I give up. I quit.


	8. Never Too Late for Apologies [Pt.1]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. So, um, I’m back. I didn’t expect to take a break. There are three reasons why I did, though. One is because I was stuck. I didn’t know how to continue. Mind you, this mini writer’s block happens in every chaptered fanfic I write. The fight between Kenny and Levi may come off as awkward, but hey. I tried. My mind just doesn’t want to work with me when I reach the climax, _especially_ if it has drama, action, or even romance.
> 
> The second one is because of projects. I suddenly had a barrage of them coming at me for the past two weeks. When I thought I was done with one, another one would suddenly come out of nowhere and hit me in the head. It was _brutal_. I swear I almost died from those damned projects. Professors should really know that we have other shit to do, like projects from other class, and we can’t focus all our time on _their_ subject. We go to _school_ , _not_ your class.
> 
> The last is because, surprise, surprise, my internet just _had_ to die again _just_ as I was about to post this up. My sister and I are thinking of changing our internet company, since it dies like every once in a while. It’s really annoying.
> 
> But anyway. I really hope I don’t have to take any more breaks, but I’m sure it’ll come out once in a while. I know you guys were waiting for so long and I’m sorry I didn’t upload faster. I really want this to end because I have tons more Riren fanfics (or fanfic ideas, that is) to share with you all, and I’m not the type to post more than one fanfic at the same time, mostly because I suck at multitasking. I hope you can forgive me.
> 
> Anyway, on with the story, which I am _never_ going to abandon, jsyk, especially since we’re nearing the ending.
> 
> Because this is a longass chapter (like, _really_ long. ‘Thirty pages on Word’ long), I’m splitting this into two parts.

“Where are we?” Armin asks, breaking the silence as he peers out the window. It’s too dark to see anything, but the silhouettes of trees are still visible. “Are we still in the city?”

 

“No,” Hange strains her eyes. To prevent being caught by any of the government officials, she had turned off her headlights and slowed the car down, just enough for it to be a decent speed while still not making any noise. Her eyesight’s going to get even worse from this, so after this rescue mission, she’s dragging Erwin to buy her more glasses. “We’re nearing Mitras. Forests border it. We’ll be reaching Mitras soon. Seven minutes tops.”

 

“That’s so cool,” Jean mumbles. “I’ve never gone past Karanese before.”

 

“You’ve been to Karanese?” Hange’s voice perks up slightly. “When?”

 

“Just last year,” Jean takes Armin’s hand in his and squeezes tight, a form of solace for the inevitable danger they’ll have to face. “My mum wanted to see Castle Utgard. Why?”

 

“Hange’s hometown is in the Karanese District,” Erwin says with a small smile. “It’s known as the Arts District, so people tend to stay away from those who reside there, since they’re seen as uptight snobs. She’s just glad that someone here had been there.”

 

“Am I invisible, Erwin?” Levi growls. “I’ve been to Karanese plenty of times.”

 

“Yeah, but you’re my friend,” Hange chirps. “It doesn’t count. You’re _supposed_ to go to my hometown.”

 

Levi rolls his eyes. “Well, then, I guess this is a good time to go to _my_ hometown then?”

 

“Ooh, yes, please!” Even without any light, Levi can see that her eyes are sparkling.

 

“You lived in Mitras?” Armin asks with a smile.

 

And this is where Levi, who’s been trying so hard to protect his past, swallows heavily. He had never said anything to Armin, but they’ve been friends for two years. That should be enough, right? After all, he had unconsciously said it to Eren, and it was only their second day of meeting. Eren makes him do unpredictable things, like letting his guard down, it seems.

 

Levi clutches at his seat and takes a deep breath. “Uh … no. I lived in The Underground.”

 

Armin’s brows shoot up and Jean stares open-mouthed at him. The latter’s expression is obvious – a mixture of surprise, fear and respect – while Armin’s is … harder to place. Will he judge him? Levi sincerely hopes not. After all, Armin is a dear friend to him. Without him, he never would have learned how to open up. He never would have learned how to trust people.

 

He never would have met Eren.

 

A faint smile forms on Armin’s lips. “So _that’s_ why you dressed and acted like you did when you first came to Sina High,” he says with great revelation. “You came from The City of Poverty, and you didn’t know who or how to trust someone, so your behaviour and way of dressing were your defence mechanisms. Only when your heart started to learn how to trust again did you shed your previous image and adopted a new one.”

 

Levi blinks and breathes a sigh of relief. Armin is amazing. “Yeah … yeah, that’s exactly how it is. How’d you know?”

 

Armin shrugs modestly, but there’s a triumph in his eyes. “I observe. So that explains everything, it seems.”

 

He yelps when Jean suddenly pulls him into a tight hug. “You’re so smart!” he coos. “I’m so proud of you!”

 

Levi watches them with a hint of envy. He wishes he and Eren could share such intimacy.

 

“Hey, Mr Observant,” Hange calls out, “mind working with us for the DCF? We could use a hand.”

 

“I don’t think he needs to join,” Levi points out. “After all, the DCF has Manipulative Asshole over here.”

 

Erwin just chuckles. It sounds the tiniest bit evil in Levi’s ears.

 

“Oh, no,” Armin laughs, even when Jean’s shouting in his ear to accept the offer. “I’m still in school, and I’m thinking of majoring in Business, actually.”

 

“Well, I hope you’d be able to reconsider our proposal, Mr Arlert,” Erwin says pleasantly. “After this, let’s talk. I shall be giving you the background and benefits of our company, and I really hope you’d like to join us. But if you still refuse, we will honour your decision.”

 

“Well …” Armin looks back at Jean and nods. “Okay.”

 

Levi rolls his eyes. Erwin had used the exact same speech to him before, and even though he was certain he still wasn’t going to join the DCF (it’s a lot of hard work for a high school student), Erwin still managed to rope him in with his pretty words and scheming mind.

 

Manipulative bastard.

 

“Heads up, people,” Hange says in a low voice. “We’re here.”

 

The other passengers in the car stop talking instantly, faces schooled into serious expressions. Well, Erwin’s and Levi’s are. Jean and Armin look more terrified if anything. Hange slows the car down as they near the main gate to Mitras.

 

Only the richest citizens reside here, along with the government, providing them with the best benefits. The Police’s main headquarters are in here too, to provide the utmost security for the rich bastards. It’s only pure irony that the City of Poverty is found underneath Mitras. It may be considered even more ironic that the government officials are more corrupted than the poor.

 

Hange stops the car a few metres away from the gate. She turns off the engine and turns to her companions. “So what’s the plan?”

 

“You mean you didn’t think of one?” Levi hisses.

 

“My original plan was knocking them out and ninja-ing our way into The Underground!” Hange whines. “It didn’t involve the two cuties here!”

 

Hange’s plan makes a lot of sense, considering how she, Erwin and Levi are physically fit enough. They’ve gone through countless crash courses in the DCF, where they train with other detectives to improve their mobility. If they didn’t have Jean and Armin, they could still execute it with no difficulty. But be as it may, Erwin had included them in this rescue mission, and while Levi still doesn’t feel comfortable about this, he’s going to trust him. He knows that Jean and Armin may be useful in this.

 

“That’s just fine. I have one,” Erwin interrupts when he sees Levi’s mouth opening once more. “Hange, you get out of the car like normal and distract the policemen at the gate. Say that you don’t know how to get to Trost and that you got lost. They look drunk and they definitely will take advantage of a helpless woman alone at night.”

 

“Please, she’s anything but helpless,” Levi mutters.

 

“The rest of us will have to get out of the car as quietly as possible, and when Hange’s distracting them all, we’ll have to sneak in through the gates. I’m going to stay back and assist Hange if necessary. They might call in for backup.” Erwin turns to Jean and Armin. “You two, go with Levi. He knows the way. Don’t lost sight of him, stay away from the lights and stick to the darkness as much as possible.”

 

“Are you guys criminals or something?” Jean raises a brow. “What’s with all the ‘sneaking around’ bullshit?”

 

“Kenny’s my uncle,” Levi unbuckles his seatbelt, gesturing for the two of them to follow him. “He definitely would have told the other police bastards about me, and since they’re his friends, they will not hesitate to either imprison me or kill me.” The look in his eyes darken. “And if they think I’ll leave without Eren, they’re sorely mistaken.”

 

“Oh. Well. I’m glad we’re on the same side, then,” Jean mumbles.

 

“You would need these,” Erwin pulls out two small pistols and a knife from his coat. Levi snatches the knife immediately and sticks it down his shoe. If Kenny wants to fight him, then he’s better off with knives. After all, Kenny taught him how to handle them. Levi’s shit out of luck when it comes to guns. He almost fired his own head off when he first handled one. Needless to say, he’s never touched another gun ever again.

 

“Um,” Armin squeaks, face pale as he holds the small weapon in his hands. He’s never held anything so dangerous in his life before.

 

“Heh, don’t be scared, Ar,” Jean smiles reassuringly, though he still looks scared behind his brave front. “I’ll protect you.”

 

“They already have the silencers attached,” Hange points out as Levi takes the pistols and turns on the safety, “so it’s easier to shoot those bastards down.”

 

“Try to refrain from _actually_ using them, though,” Erwin frowns, watching Levi hook the guns down Jean’s and Armin’s belts. “We’re detectives, and we use violence _only_ when necessary. So don’t go gunning down every policeman you see. After all, the government has the power to shut us down.”

 

“Damn,” Levi sighs. “There goes my night.”

 

“You’ll have plenty of time to unleash hell on Kenny,” Hange smiles before turning to Erwin. “All right, anything else I need to know before I start?”

 

“Yes.” Erwin takes her hand and squeezes tight. “ _Please_ be careful.”

 

“Oh, stop worrying, you,” Hange chuckles. “If those guys so much as touch me, I’ll just have to break their faces in. You saw what happened to Mike. Though, that was _completely_ accidental.”

 

“You broke the guy’s nose,” Levi frowns. “How is _that_ accidental?”

 

“Hey, no one told me he sniffs upon first introduction!” Hange defends herself. “It was a defensive mechanism!”

 

“Your voice is rising,” Erwin says before kissing the back of her hand. “Go.”

 

“I’ll be fine,” Hange laughs. “Good luck to you guys.” She exits the car and they all watch her approach the policemen, drunkenness obvious in their postures alone.

 

“You guys are really sweet,” Armin smiles at Erwin, though he doesn’t take his eyes away from Hange.

 

“It’s sickening,” Levi mutters.

 

They watch as she cleverly manoeuvres the policemen so that their backs are facing the car. With her now facing the car, it’s easier to tell from her facial expressions when to act. They slowly advance towards her, Hange perfectly playing the role of the helpless, oblivious victim. Only when she begins to back away does Levi gesture for the Armin and Jean to officially start the rescue mission.

 

“Go, go, go,” he whispers hurriedly, opening the door as quietly as he could and allowing Armin and Jean to clamber out. He shares brief eye contact with Erwin and he nods, closing the door behind him. He leaves a sliver of opening, because a car door slamming would definitely attract attention. Levi quietly makes his way over to the forest, the other two awkwardly following him.

 

They didn’t get caught, and when they’re a safe distance away from the car and into the forest, Levi sighs in relief. “God, that was lucky,” he whispers, leaning against the wall border. “Can’t you guys run any quieter?”

 

“How were we supposed to know this involved stealth?” Jean hisses.

 

Armin quiets him with a nudge. “We’ll try our best. So what now?”

 

Levi taps on the wall. “Now, we scale over this sucker and sneak in.”

 

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Jean folds his arms. “I’m not _that_ fit. When it comes to banging Armin, sure, I mean I –”

 

Armin hurriedly slaps his hand over Jean’s mouth, his face almost as red as a fire engine. “ _The point is_ ,” he says in a slightly raised voice, “don’t we have any other ways to sneak in? Surely there has to be another entrance or something.”

 

Levi shakes his head, choosing to not comment about Armin’s sex life. After all, they’re friends, and it would be rude as hell, especially since Armin practically looks mortified that Jean would just so casually let their sex lives slip. “Kenny told me that there is, but it would take about two hours on foot to reach there from the main gate.”

 

Jean’s eyes widen in surprise, not bothering to remove Armin’s hand.

 

“Yeah, Mitras is really big,” Levi grumbles, walking towards the trees. He spots a big, sturdy one, its branches extending past the wall. “You two any good at climbing?”

 

“I took rock climbing lessons before,” Jean says, Armin’s hand finally falling from his face. “And I think Armin did rock climbing twice during summer camp.”

 

Armin shrugs, his face nearly back to its original colour. “I’m not as good as Jean, but I’m fairly decent.”

 

“Good enough for me,” Levi grabs the lowest branches of the tree and hoists himself up. He reaches the branch closest to the wall quickly, scooting over to make way for Jean and Armin.

 

“So,” Jean starts, reaching out a hand for Armin, who’s starting to struggle, “what’re we doing up here? Why did we climb this tree?”

 

“We’re going to jump over the wall,” Levi mumbles, eyes trained past the wall and spotting the patrols. “I can withstand high jumps, since I was trained in it.” He looks back at Jean, Armin now next to him and panting heavily. “You jump at exactly where you see me go, and I’ll catch you.”

 

Jean swallows, clearly not liking the idea of jumping into an area which he can’t see and possibly break his neck in fourteen different places. “All right.”

 

“Good,” Levi turns his back on them and scans the area once more, making sure the patrolling policemen’s backs are turned on them. “Jump after three seconds, and Armin will jump three seconds after you do.”

 

With that, he leaps over the barrier, executing a silent roll when he lands. He quickly glances around and notes with relief when the policemen aren’t found, positioning himself to catch Jean. And sure enough, Jean jumps over, landing perfectly in Levi’s arms. The latter almost loses his balance, underestimating Jean’s weight and nearly resulting in the two of them toppling over. That’ll surely create noise.

 

“God, how much do you weigh?” Levi hisses.

 

Jean doesn’t have time to answer, not when Armin hops over. Levi isn’t sure whether Jean doesn’t want him to touch his boyfriend or wants to be Armin’s saviour at every possible moment; either way, he gets pushed to the side when Jean stretches his arms out.

 

Of course, with no training at all, Jean tips right over when Armin crashes into him, resulting in a series of pained yelps and moans.

 

“Quiet!” Levi hisses, hurriedly grabbing Armin’s arm and pulling him to his feet when he hears the sounds of footsteps running towards them. “We’re trying _not_ to get noticed, remember? Follow me!”

 

They quickly run to a heavily shadowed area, sticking close to the wall as the two patrols run to where they had landed.

 

“What the heck was that?” one of them asks, scratching his bald head.

 

“No idea,” the one with a beard says. “Did it sound like a cat to you?”

 

“More like a monkey.”

 

“A monkey?” Beardy repeats, laughter evident in his voice. “In Mitras? Are you drunk or something?”

 

“Well, it sounded like it,” Baldy defends himself.

 

“Well, whatever it was,” Beardy clears his throat, “it’s gone. Even if it _was_ a monkey, I doubt it’ll do anything at this time of night. Monkeys aren’t too smart.”

 

“Yeah …” Baldy sounds uncertain, but ready to drop the subject.

 

“And even if it _did_ do something, it’s not our problem. Now come on,” Beardy nudges Baldy’s arm. “Our shift’s ending soon, and I plan on getting hammered!”

 

They leave the area, and only when there’s no more sound do Jean and Armin sigh in relief. Levi just gestures for them to start walking down an alley. “Come on. Let’s not waste any more time. Eren’s life depends on us.”

 

“Wow,” Jean mutters, wiping his brow as he follows Levi. “And I thought the rumours of the Police being lazy fuckers were just, well, rumours.”

 

“Pretty hard evidence right here, I’d say,” Armin agrees. “Hopefully it changed your mind.”

 

“You were thinking about joining the scum of the Earth?” Levi asks Jean, looking back just enough to see him.

 

“Yeah,” Jean mumbles. “Looked really nice, living and working in Mitras. And the idea of being able to protect the rich? Sounds like a dream come true.” He chuckles weakly. “Looks like I need to consider other career options.”

 

“If we live through this,” Levi mutters, throwing a hand out to stop them from walking as they near the end of the alley, “I’ll tell Erwin to help you out.” He sticks his head out and sees no one, hurriedly making his way to the other side of the fairly well-lit road. Armin instantly follows his footsteps, albeit a bit clumsily. Jean was a bit harder to coax to move, but when Armin smiles encouragingly at him, he all but dashes to them.

 

“Keep it down!” Levi hisses. “And stop running!”

 

“How can I not run?” Jean whisper-shouts back, collapsing to the ground from the sheer pressure. “I’m stressed like hell over here!

 

“That’s the thing: you’re stressed,” Levi points out. “The more you’re stressed, the more you’re panicked. And the more you’re panicked, the more you won’t be able to think clearly.” He crouches in front of Jean. “I need you to listen to me, and listen carefully. Eren’s life is at stake here. Not only that, but _your_ life is at stake here. If you keep fumbling around like an idiot and continuously make noise, then you’re going to attract the wrong kind of attention. I’m not going to abandon you once you’re caught, because only cowards do run.”

 

Jean wants to send him a grateful smile, but the authoritative look in Levi’s eyes is practically binding him in place.

 

“ _But_ ,” Levi continues, “if the Police _do_ catch you and find that you’re with me, they will not hesitate to kill you. You’re an accomplice of mine and they’ll see you as a threat. And I can’t have them do that to you, not as my friend’s lover, and not as my tutee’s friend.”

 

Jean stares for a few moments before he nods and stands up, a look of determination on his face. “Okay,” he takes a deep breath. “Okay, I can do this. Let’s go get Eren back.”

 

A small smile crosses Levi’s face. “Good. Now follow me.”

 

Levi’s small boost must have gotten to Jean, because they’re a lot quieter now. Even Armin, who wasn’t the recipient of his speech, is making a lot less noise than before. They can’t do anything about their shoes hitting pavement, so they try their best not to run. But it’s a bit hard, considering Levi keeps urging them to hurry up.

 

“All right,” Levi mutters as they finally reach the gate leading to The Underground. They had to take detours so that they won’t run into the Police. It was troublesome, especially since they had to do some more climbing, but they had no encounters, so Levi’s chalking it up as a win. “The gate’s quite rusty, so it’ll make some noise. So I need you both to squeeze in as much as you can, because I’m only opening it just enough for us to get in.”

 

“Wow,” Jean pokes at his stomach. “It’s a good thing I started working out then.”

 

“Armin, keep watch,” Levi carefully unlatches the gate. “Tell me if anyone’s coming.”

 

“Right,” Armin nods once then pokes his head out to the street.

 

With gritted teeth and slightly shaky hands, Levi pulls open the gate. He pauses every so often whenever he hears a slight creak, resuming his pulling when the noise is gone. “Hey,” he whispers at Jean, gesturing at the gate. “Think this is big enough for you to go in?”

 

The gate isn’t even open halfway, which may prove difficult as the walls on either end of the gate protrude out. “I hope so,” Jean mutters and presses himself flat against the wall. He slides along the wall, Levi opening it a tiny bit more when Jean reaches the gate. He squeezes through with no problem, and Levi calls for Armin to follow. He’s much smaller than Jean, so there’s no problem whatsoever, and Levi slips inside as he closes the gate.

 

“Okay, let’s go,” Levi says, his voice slightly louder. This time, he hurries down the stairs, turning sharply when he reaches the corner. He stops when he sees The Underground, memories of a painful life springing up in his head. It’s nostalgic, but he doesn’t have an ounce of homesickness. Levi’s glad he left this place behind.

 

“Follow me.” His voice is back at its normal volume and he takes off in a run.

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Jean pants, trying to catch up to him. For someone who’s so short, he sure can run. “Why’re you running all of a sudden? Aren’t we supposed to _not_ get caught?”

 

“You really think the Police would come here?” Levi snorts, dodging several loose pavement stones and ignoring the residents staring at them. “Besides, it’s night time and three complete strangers came out of nowhere and start running. If you were one of the people here, would you tackle the strangers down? Especially when they have weapons?”

 

Jean’s gaze flickers down to Levi’s trousers, just now noticing the glint of a blade tucked in his belt. Levi must have been doing this a lot, considering how he moves as if there isn’t any sharp object constantly brushing against his leg. “You’ve got a point,” he mutters. The gun feels heavy against his leg, and even if Levi _did_ help him in securing it in place so it won’t jiggle about, it’s still worrying. He pulls it out just in case he shoots himself, even though the safety is on.

 

“I need you two to think fast on your feet,” Levi says. Even as they’re running, because it’s so quiet, they can still hear him. “The guys I used to work with are nothing like Erwin and Hange. It’s either you kill them or be killed _by_ them.”

 

“But Erwin said –”

 

“Screw what Erwin says,” Levi growls, rounding a sharp corner. The other two follow closely behind him, though they’re getting slightly winded. Levi’s in _really_ good shape to continue running without slowing down for a moment. “We’re in The Underground. None of the shitty police would bother setting foot down here.”

 

He abruptly stops and Armin crashes into his back. Levi doesn’t even budge. Jean slows down immediately, but that doesn’t stop him from stumbling a bit. “We’re here,” Levi growls, glaring at the dilapidated building a few metres away from them. It looks like any other building in here, nothing special about it. The only difference is the two burly men standing on either side of the door. “Stick with me. But if I say run, run, and start shooting like hell. Just make sure you don’t hit me or Eren.”

 

“What about Kenny?” Armin asks in a trembling voice.

 

Levi’s eyes narrow. “Kenny wouldn’t be so stupid to get himself caught in gunfire.” He walks towards the warehouse, teeth gritting with every step.

 

One of the bodyguards yawn obnoxiously, stopping short at the sight of Levi. “Hey,” his mouth stretches to a grin. “Look who’s back!”

 

The other bodyguard wears the same grin. “’Ey, Kenny’s protégé! Whatcha doin’ back, shrimp?”

 

“Kenny came in here earlier, didn’t he?” Levi raises a brow, ignoring their question.

 

“Yeah,” the second one scratches his chin.

 

“Did he have a boy with him?”

 

“Not sure,” the second one shrugs. “I was already drunk like a horse when Kenny came by. Couldn’t see what he was carryin’.”

 

Levi’s jaw tightens. He knows when someone’s lying. He’s read too many expressions. “Thanks,” he says stiffly. He takes a step forward and is stopped by a heavy hand on his shoulder.

 

“An’ where d’ya think yer goin’?” the first one sneers. “Kenny paid us a lot o’ cash t’keep ya away.”

 

“I figured,” Levi says coolly. “That explains why you’re out here in the cold and not inside with the rest.”

 

“’Ey, ’ey, he paid us good money!” the second one says.

 

“No money earned here is good money,” Levi growls. “Now get your paws off me before I cut them off.”

 

The first one leans forward, his breath stinking of alcohol. “Give it yer best shot, shrimp.”

 

“Levi …” Armin says unsurely, tugging on his sleeve. Levi had just vaguely remembered they were there. “Maybe we should –”

 

Without warning, Levi pulls out his knife and slices the hand gripping his shoulder. It comes off easily, spraying Levi’s face and clothes with blood. The guy screams as he clutches at his wrist, bending over in pain. The second guy’s face is twisted with fury. “You little –”

 

Levi reaches behind him and grabs Armin’s gun, flicking off the safety and holding the pistol to the guy’s head in one movement. He pulls the trigger and a bang goes off in the quiet night. Levi steps away as the man’s lifeless body buckles and flumps to the ground.

 

“L-Levi …” Armin whispers.

 

“Oh my God,” Jean chokes.

 

While Levi wants to comfort them (he knows what experiencing something dying in front of his eyes for the first time feels like; if he wasn’t trained like he is now, the image would haunt him for the rest of his life), he can’t. Not right now at least. He walks over to the first man and points the gun in between his eyes. The man whimpers in fear and pain. “Now I’ll ask you again. Did Kenny have a boy with him?”

 

He nods hurriedly. “Y-yeah, he did! Had a kid with brown hair over his shoulder! Think he was knocked out or somethin’ ’cause he ain’t movin’ an inch!”

 

A small smirk flitters on Levi’s lips. “Thought so.” And with that, he fires, blood splattering on him once more. The man’s eyes roll upwards and he, too, slumps to the ground. Levi tsks and drags his hand down his face, smudging the blood even more. “Thanks,” he murmurs, handing the gun back to Armin.

 

Armin takes it with shaky hands, mindful of the trigger now that the safety’s off, and inspects Levi’s face. “You okay?” he asks softly.

 

“I’m fine,” Levi replies in a voice just as soft, the hard tone from earlier gone. “I should be asking you guys that. I’ve been doing that for _years_. I’m completely immune to this. While I’m not proud to admit it, taking lives is second nature to me.”

 

“Oh my God,” Jean says again.

 

“Look, while I really want to make sure you guys are fine,” Levi raises a brow, “things are gonna get harder here on out. Remember what I said: kill or _be_ killed. The people inside The Warehouse have no doubt heard the gunshot, as the walls here are thin. They’re preparing themselves.”

 

“Why aren’t they coming out now?” Armin asks.

 

“They’re preparing for an ambush,” Levi squats down and wipes his blade on the second man’s shirt. “I know how they work. Once we go in there, they’re going to shoot us until we die.”

 

“So what do you propose we do?”

 

“Simple. Open the door and stand at the sides. For offence, they’d be shooting until they realise we’re not there. For defence, they’d have to be at the back of the place in case we manage to get to them. It’ll give them time to try and kill us should we actually get in. So because of their positioning, they won’t see us at the sides.”

 

“How are we going to get the door open?”

 

“You know physics, right?” Levi jabs a thumb at the handle bolted to the door. “Calculate the right angle which would weaken this thing, because you’re going to shoot it.”

 

“M-me?” Armin pales.

 

“You’ll need to know how to handle the gun, Armin. I’ll be kicking it down, so you’ll be safe.”

 

With a swallow, Armin nods.

 

“Oh my God.”

 

“Armin, shut your boyfriend up and get ready to kill some asshats,” Levi commands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First things first, the newest chapter of the manga is _way_ too fucking intense. But Levi asking Erwin the situation of Hange’s squad, AND THEN ASKING IF **_EREN’S_** OKAY, and Armin telling Jean to take over him when he doesn’t know know what to do, and then Jean telling Armin that he’s gonna rely on him as well ARE WAY TOO CUTE. AGH. I KEPT FANGIRLING. OTPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPS <333
> 
> And I just want you to know that I have about seven Riren fic ideas in my workspace. They’re mostly short chaptered fic (~5 chapters), but I hope you like them all just the same.


	9. Never Too Late for Apologies [Pt. 2]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2. But you all knew that.
> 
> **Warning: blood and violence. But they’re not that detailed, but for those who get triggered, head’s up for you all.**

Levi goes to stand on one side, the other two going to the other. When they’re all in position, he nods at Armin and watches how Armin stares at the door.

 

With shaking hands, Armin lifts the gun and closes his eyes, firing blindly. While Levi needs to chide him to never close his eyes while firing a gun, it did the trick. The top of the handle detaches from the wooden door and hangs loosely from its lower bolt, swinging gently. Levi waits until Armin’s safely hidden before he stands in front of the door and kicks it down.

 

Almost immediately, a flurry of bullets comes out. Levi only manages to get back to safety, a bullet ripping into his sleeve. Levi growls as he inspects the tear. Hange had made him change into a white button-up at the hospital. While blood is more prominent on white, it’ll be quite easy to get rid of it if he washes it immediately, but a bullet tear isn’t something he can fix.

 

Damn it. He liked this shirt.

 

Levi waits until the guns stop firing. He keeps his eyes trained on the ground in front of the door, watching for any shadow movements. Sure enough, he sees it, the shadow of a person gesturing for another one to inspect their situation. Levi flickers his gaze at Jean and Armin, pressing a finger to his lips, waiting for the shadow to come closer.

 

Just as he sees the tip of a shoe, Levi whirls around and stabs the person in the neck. The man gurgles and Levi just vaguely remembers who he is. Not too important, just someone who hung around the bar most nights. But now he’s _extremely_ important, acting as Levi’s shield when the rest of his old gang comprehend that their buddy just got stabbed and start firing again.

 

In their panic, they don’t realise that they haven’t been shooting Levi until it’s over, until they’ve run out of bullets. Which is all fine and dandy for Levi, considering he’s got a _knife_ against _guns_.

 

He braces himself as he strains his ears, hearing for the slightest change in sound. There’s one, just behind his human shield, a bit to the left, and Levi shoves the guy towards the person inching towards them, dodging a slash aimed at his right. He easily punches the woman in the face and slits her throat, ducking when he hears a roar behind him.

 

Levi dodges the swing of the man’s axe too, plunging his knife into the man’s stomach. The man collapses against him and Levi winces when he feels the morphine wearing off. He hisses and clutches at his stomach, blood seeping from the bandages. Damn it! It’s supposed to last longer than this, but all this exertion is really taking a toll on the wound Kenny gifted him with.

 

That minor distraction is enough for one of Kenny’s lackeys to bring their knife down Levi’s arm. Levi notices only just as the blade touches him, quickly pulling back. It isn’t enough, though, a tear down his sleeve and arm from where the knife sliced him.

 

And suddenly, Levi feels … _elated_. He hasn’t killed in a long time, and while it’s a mortifying thought, he hasn’t been hurt in a fight in a long time. He was known as the genius back then, never suffering from a cut from his opponents before. The fact that someone was able to cut him while he was distracted (which is a cowardly move, but Levi still commends him for actually _hurting_ him) brings him this feeling of euphoria.

 

Levi’s eyes flash and a maniacal grin forms on his face. With a laugh, he jumps at the surrounding people, slashing here and there like a madman. One person gets cut down, then another, and another. He’s felling people like he’s scattering seeds to the ground. Levi had always known that he found a bit of joy killing people. He can’t explain it. While it was terrifying, it was also exhilarating killing people. His bloodlust side must be fired up at suddenly jumping into a fight.

 

Levi feels a hesitant touch on his shoulder and he whirls around, hand in the air and ready to stab whoever it is when he freezes. Armin looks positively terrified, but there’s sympathy in his eyes. “Levi …”

 

Immediately, all killing intent washes out of Levi, replaced with nothing but tiredness and guilt. He drops to his knees, knife slipping out of his grasp and clattering away from him. “Oh my God,” he mutters, pressing his bloodied hands against his face.

 

“Levi, it’s fine,” Armin kneels next to him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I … actually expected this.”

 

“How?” Even with his mouth covered, the sharp tone in Levi’s voice is still very evident. “How can you have possibly expected me to go on a rampage?”

 

“Simple. You reawakened something that was sleeping inside of you,” Armin pats Levi’s head. “It gotten even stronger when Eren’s life is at stake. This was your past, Levi. You don’t have to be ashamed of it. Just … grow out of it.”

 

Levi doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know what to think. Armin is one of his closest friends, and to let him see such an ugly, violent side of him makes him want to throw up. He lifts his face from his hands and looks tiredly at Armin. He opens his mouth to speak, but then he catches sight of another one of Kenny’s lackeys behind Armin, who wasn’t even in The Warehouse the whole time, ambling through the door, raising a gun at Armin.

 

Armin whirls around when he hears the click of a pistol.

 

“AR—”

 

A loud bang goes off. The man’s eyes roll to the top of his head and he falls. Behind him stands Jean, both arms locked in front of him, shaking hands gripping the gun. Jean pants as his arms flop back down and he lets go of the gun, letting it tumble to the floor.

 

“Jean,” Armin breathes, quickly going to his boyfriend. Jean collapses into his arms, heavily panting and eyes wide open. He killed a man and he’s already close to breaking. Levi’s glad. He’s glad that Jean still has innocence left in him that he feels utter remorse for taking away another person’s life.

 

“Kirstein,” Levi mutters, standing up. “Thank you. For bloodying your hands to save us.” He gestures towards the door. “You and Armin can wait outside. You don’t have to go with me anymore. Just stay by the shadows and keep quiet.”

 

Armin’s eyes are wide and his brows are furrowed, clearly distraught. “But I –”

 

“I’m a fool,” Levi interrupts. “I never should have listened to Erwin and made him leave you two behind. You aren’t built for this. Just one shot and he’s already shaking like a leaf. I don’t want to endanger your lives any more than I should.”

 

“… Levi …”

 

“Go.” Levi smiles slightly at Armin. “Go wait outside. Erwin and Hange should be coming here soon. I’ll bring back Eren. I promise.”

 

With a swallow, Armin nods, urging Jean to stand up. He collects his gun as well, just in case he might need to defend himself. Levi watches them leave and sighs, both in relief and disappointment. He’s got two less people to worry about, but he shouldn’t have brought them with him. They’re too fragile. He’s worried of the inevitable trauma this’ll cause the two of them.

 

“What the hell is going on?!” a voice yells from upstairs, breaking him from his train of thought.

 

Instantly, Levi braces himself. His knife’s lying somewhere on the floor away from him, so if he tries to get it, the person may have very well killed him with his back turned. Instead, he squares his shoulders and furls his hands into fists. He may be adept with knives, but he’s good with fists too.

 

A girl comes from upstairs, her eyes wide as she takes in the sight of the bar: blood stains and dead bodies littering the damn place. Her eyes narrow at Levi, instantly piecing him to be the cause of all this. Without a word, she vaults over the wooden railing and runs at Levi, aiming a punch at him. He dodges, but the girl twists and kicks him right in his bandaged wound.

 

Levi falls backwards, growling and hissing in pain. Ugh, maybe he _should_ have gone to the hospital and got proper treatment like Hange had suggested. He’s not as swift as he is without the pain constantly numbing him.

 

But Eren needs him, so Levi grits his teeth and forces himself to stand up. He wipes away the blood from his mouth and blows hair out of his eyes. He raises his fists and prepares himself in case the girl charges at him, when recognition clicks and his blinks rapidly.

 

“… Hitch?” Levi’s eyes are wide, his stance drooping slightly. She has definitely changed since he left, but her cattish features and her ash hair have stayed the same.

 

The girl mirrors his actions, surprise clear on her face as recognition, too, dawns on her. “Well, I’ll be!” A grin stretches her lips. “You cleaned up nice, Napoleon!”

 

Levi’s eyes narrow at the nickname. He hasn’t heard of that in years. He raises his fists again, preparing himself to fight should Hitch attack. “Where’s the other one? The blondie?”

 

“You mean Annie?” Hitch snorts and they circle each other slowly. “She left just after you did. Wanted to ‘help the people’, she said. Pfft. As if getting rid of some trash isn’t helpful enough.”

 

Annie. _That’s_ her name. In all honesty, Levi’s glad she left. She was a reliable partner, even though she and Levi never really worked well in teams, and strong enough to take down ten men in one go. The girl’s a natural fighter, and Levi’s been the recipient of her punches on more than one occasion. Annie’s been knocked down several times by Levi, too, so she can’t brag about it.

 

But if she still stayed, she would have definitely gotten stronger, while Levi, having abandoned fighting for three years now, has the same amount of strength. He might have even gotten weaker. If he were to fight the girl, he’s definitely a dead man.

 

“Look, Hitch,” Levi says carefully. “I’m not here to fight.”

 

“Hah!” Hitch scoffs. “You saying that now after kicking some asses?”

 

“You were my teammate, Hitch,” Levi continues, ignoring her words. “My _friend_. I would never want to hurt you.”

 

Hitch stops moving completely. Levi stills as well, though he keeps himself alert. Hitch is a clever fighter, trained by Kenny herself, so he shouldn’t let his guard down around her. To his surprise, tears fill Hitch’s eyes and she covers her face with her hands. “Then you shouldn’t have left!” she screams. “You shouldn’t have left me to fend for myself! If you hadn’t left, then neither would have Annie! And I wouldn’t be alone!”

 

Levi’s at a loss for words. He’s seen Hitch cry only once, and that was when she was first brought into The Warehouse by Kenny. “Hitch …”

 

“I wouldn’t be thought of as the weak one!” Hitch continues to bawl. “I wouldn’t be the one who had to constantly prove myself to those pigs!”

 

“Hitch, please …” Levi takes a few steps forward. “Please don’t cry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, okay? I just … I wanted my mum to stop suffering.”

 

“We’ve _all_ been suffering, Levi,” Hitch sobs. “The Underground is an absolute hell. Why didn’t you tell me that you’ve been saving up money from your hits?”

 

“I thought …” Levi swallows. “I thought you wanted to stay. I honestly did.”

 

“I wanted to die,” Hitch moans. “This is an absolute shithole. If I had known what you were doing, I should have saved money, too, so I could get out of here.”

 

“Why don’t you come with me?” Levi suggests. “When I’m done with my business here, you can come with me and we’ll live in Utopia.”

 

“Utopia?” Hitch echoes as she wipes her eyes. “The Utopia District? _That’s_ where you live now?”

 

“That’s where _we’ll_ live,” Levi promises, holding out a hand. “Just … I just need you to help me.”

 

Hitch stares at him with uncertainty in her eyes. She hesitantly reaches out and takes Levi’s hand, but before Levi can smile, she pulls him forward roughly and flips her body, twisting Levi’s arm behind his back and slamming him against the wall.

 

Damn it! Levi grits his teeth, his arm painfully pinned to his back. Damn it all to hell! He should’ve _known_ that Hitch was pretending! He’s always had a soft spot for her and Annie, and seeing her tears had re-established that fact. Argh, he can’t believe that it would end up as a mistake!

 

“Oh, Napoleon,” Hitch says sweetly. “You should’ve known never to trust a crying girl.”

 

“Damn you, Hitch,” Levi snarls.

 

“While having your back to me is _perfect_ for me to kick your ass,” Hitch teases, “I need to know one thing.” Her voice has dropped to a menacing growl. “What _are_ you here for, Napoleon? Kenny comes back after three years, dragging a boy with him, and you come to the exact same place. What’s your motive?”

 

“My motive is to kill Kenny,” Levi manages to say. He tries to break free from her hold, but her grip only tightens. Damn it. Hitch has _definitely_ gotten stronger. “And to bring back the kid he has with him.”

 

“Never known you were the type to play bodyguard, Napoleon,” Hitch mocks. “How much is he paying you?”

 

“None. I’m his tutor.”

 

Hitch doesn’t answer for a few moments. “A … tutor?” The surprise is evident in her voice. “In, uh, _what_ , exactly?”

 

“Mathematics,” Levi gasps when Hitch applies more pressure. “We’re supposed to start on calculus soon, but the idiot isn’t done with matrices, so maybe we’ll actually tackle it next week. Or the next _year_ , with how slow he’s picking shit up.”

 

“… You’re tutoring him … in _Mathematics_?”

 

“It may not seem impressive,” Levi says in a low voice, “but he’s _my_ student. I have to protect him. I have to _save_ him.”

 

Hitch doesn’t move. With a sigh, she releases Levi, the latter whirling around in surprise. “You’ve really changed … haven’t you, Napoleon?”

 

“I … yeah …” Levi narrows his eyes suspiciously. This may be another one of Hitch’s tricks. He won’t let her get the better of him for the second time.

 

“Never thought I’d see the day where you’d be trying to _save_ someone who isn’t your mother,” Hitch raises a brow. She looks at him with a strange expression. “Tell me the truth, is he _really_ just your student? Or is there something more?”

 

Levi blinks. He hadn’t expect such a question. “I … _what_?”

 

Hitch sighs again, heavier this time, and picks up one of the toppled chairs, sinking down on it when she puts it back up. “Even when your face was against the wall, I could see in your eyes that the kid means so much more to you. I could hear it in your voice.” She folds her arms. “If you tell me the truth, I’ll let you go. After all,” her eyes glint with mischief, “I’m not here to fight.”

 

Levi swallows. Hitch has never been perceptive before, so the fact that she can see it shows that he’s been really fucking obvious all this time. “I think … I think I’m in love with him.”

 

Hitch just raises a brow. “Are you sure?”

 

Levi thinks back to the time when he first met Eren. He hadn’t felt anything for him back then, other than thinking that his student is attractive as all hell. But this feeling of protectiveness had sprung up when Eren opened up and told him about his parents. It gotten even stronger when he confirmed that Eren had been the one who Kenny raped that night.

 

Feelings of anything platonic were instantly trampled when Levi bumped into him earlier today in Utopia. The sun was beautiful and it made Eren look gorgeous. Levi has to admit that when Eren cried for him, it softened his heart. No one would ever done that, much less someone they only knew for a few days. But Eren did. He cried for someone who he thought was his _rapist_ , for fuck’s sake.

 

Eren wanted to fall in love with him, and now that Levi had proved his innocence of being his rapist, then Eren’s free to fall in love with him all he wants.

 

The only problem? Levi’s too stubborn to allow him to do so.

 

But, no, not anymore. No, Eren deserves the feeling of being in love. He deserves being happy and being giddy with Levi. He’ll allow Eren to trust him with his already-broken heart, and Levi will be more than willing to pick up the pieces and glue them back together. And Eren will, hopefully, allow him to.

 

And when the time comes, Levi would allow himself to fully fall in love with the precious boy, the pure-hearted angel who deserves nothing but the best. It may be too early, but Levi won’t stop lavishing the boy with love until he can admit it. And even when he _does_ admit it, he’ll just have to smother Eren with even more love.

 

But for now, it’s about time he starts to entertain the idea of actually falling in love with Eren Jaeger.

 

Levi looks at her with determination. “ _Very_ positive.”

 

Hitch snorts and closes her eyes, turning away from him. “You always _were_ boring, Napoleon. I don’t deal with boring oldsters like you. You don’t make anything fun.”

 

Levi stares for a moment before a slight smile forms on his face. “Thanks, Hitch,” he mumbles as he sprints past her, ruffling her hair like he used to. He scoops up his knife as he passes it, bolting up the stairs leading to Eren.

 

Hitch cracks open her eyes when Levi’s footsteps aren’t heard anymore. With a sigh, she stands up and walks out of The Warehouse, dodging all the bodies strewn all over the floor. She looks up and gazes at the crystal ceilings with a hint of sadness. “Annie and I always knew you’d be quick to love …” She sighs again and continues to walk away, leaving her old life behind.

 

“See you, Napoleon. And … good luck on taking him back.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Tch,” Kenny scoffs, carelessly stabbing the knife into the wooden chair in front of him. “Wonder what’s taking the midget so long.” He’s been throwing the knife to several objects for a while to curb his boredom. Even Eren’s starting to feel his fear fade. He’s even starting to get a little sleepy.

 

He jerks awake when Kenny flings the knife at him, the blade landing just a few centimetres away from his leg. “Oi, oi, don’t go fallin’ asleep on me now,” Kenny sniggers. He nears Eren and grabs a fistful of his hair, the latter grunting in pain. “Ya know what? I’m sick and tired of waiting for the runt. Why don’t we speed things up, ah?”

 

Eren freezes when Kenny starts to unbuckle his jeans. He screams and kicks as much as he can, but with his broken ankle, even a sick person can avoid his flimsy attacks. So Kenny just stays where he is, not even bothering to dodge. Eren’s screams turn high-pitched when Kenny manages to pull his jeans down, only his underwear saving him. Just as he feels Kenny’s cold fingers hook the waistband, the door bursts open.

 

“KENNY!”

 

Eren’s heart leaps for joy. Levi! Levi’s come to save him!

 

His smile drops when he sees how beaten up and bloody Levi is. He looks terrible. Eren suddenly feels an immense amount of guilt. Levi looks just about ready to give up his life to save him. He isn’t worth that much. Levi shouldn’t have tried so hard.

 

Kenny smirks and pulls away from Eren, much to the latter’s relief. “About time ya got here. What took ya so long?”

 

“Step away from Eren,” Levi growls, closing the door behind him. If Kenny tries to escape, then Levi wants to hinder him as much as possible. “Get your filthy, slimy _tentacles_ away off of him.”

 

“Oi, that’s not very nice,” Kenny cackles, though he turns around to face Levi, raising a brow. “No wonder ya took so long! Ya even had to go and get a new shirt!” He gestures towards the blood splatters against the white button-up. “But you got one with a nice design, so I ain’t complainin’!”

 

Levi’s glare hardens. While he had expected his wound to reopen, especially since all Hange did was clean him up and wrap him in bandages, he hadn’t anticipated for it to open so early. He must have really been in such a frenzy to take back Eren that he didn’t care for himself properly. “Cut the conversation, Kenny,” he spits. “You want a match? You got a match.”

 

“Ya sure ya wanna do this, runt?” Kenny taunts, pulling another knife from somewhere on his body. “Ya haven’t been fightin’ since ya left this place.”

 

“Neither have you,” Levi counters, pulling out his own blade.

 

“True,” Kenny smirks, “but I got friends in the Military Police!” He suddenly lunges forward and slashes at Levi, the latter barely managing to dodge. “And they give me _loads_ of practice!”

 

Eren watches with both fear and awe at how fluidly the two of them move. They’re insanely fast, the flashes of metal knives clinking against each other the only clear thing Eren can see. Kenny’s much better at dodging, speedier and smoother compared to Levi, who keeps dodging at the last second. Levi’s definitely slower in defence, but he makes up for it in his attack. Since he’s smaller, it’s easier to manoeuvre around Kenny and strike at him speedily. But Kenny dodges like a fucking bullet, so it doesn’t make much of a difference.

 

“You’ve gotten slow, Shorty!” Kenny hoots as he brings his knife down. Levi pulls back just in time, but Kenny twirls his knife and slashes upwards.

 

“Agh!” Levi grunts in pain, stumbling back a few steps. He touches his face gingerly, feeling a sticky substance. He doesn’t need to look at it to know that it’s blood. The wound doesn’t feel deep, but it’s long; from under his right eye, the diagonal slash across his face ends at his left cheek.

 

Unlike his fight downstairs, Levi doesn’t feel any joy. Ever since he had realised that he had let Armin and Jean see that ugly side of him, he tries his hardest to quell that desire down. It’ll hurtt him even more if he so much as let that side slip in front of Eren.

 

And unlike downstairs, the pain jolts Levi back to some painful memories. It only hardens his resolve to bring down the man who made his life a living hell. But a small whimper catches his attention, and Levi glances at the side to see Eren.

 

Eren’s eyes are watery again, and, oh, how Levi wishes he would see them sparkle in joy rather than misery. He wants to comfort him, to erase this image from his mind, but before he can even think of doing it, Kenny slashes at him again. This time, it catches Levi’s shirt, tearing open his skin and the material.

 

Levi pants and clutches at the new wound. It’s much deeper compared to what the guy earlier gifted him with. He glares murderously at Kenny. “That was cheap, you bastard,” he spits.

 

“Since when did we care about those things, ya runt?” Kenny asks carelessly. “Don’t get distracted from me, boy! Or I’ll slice ya and the brat where ya stand!” He whirls around and throws the knife at Eren, the latter frozen with fear.

 

Levi acts instantly, throwing his own knife and hitting Kenny’s. They both clatter to the ground, a few inches from Eren. Eren breathes a shaky sigh of relief. Levi stands protectively in front of Eren and scoops both knives up, one blade in each hand.

 

“Oh ho ho!” Kenny grins. “Won’t let me touch the brat, ah? Fine by me! Things are just gettin’ interestin’!” He reaches into his trousers and pulls out a couple more knives, both much longer than the one he had thrown earlier. They’re almost half the length of a sword.

 

“Where did you get those?” Levi’s glare hardens.

 

“Does it matter?”

 

“No, I suppose not,” Levi tsks. He has to be much more careful now. Kenny can reach him much easily now, and if Levi gets stabbed by one of those, the wound may even be deemed as fatal. It looks like Kenny’ll have no problem reaching into his guts. “It just means that I have to dodge you more.”

 

“Like I’ll give you that option, ya runt!” Kenny yells as he lunges towards Levi again, thrusting both swords forward.

 

Like before, it’s just a whirlwind of clashing noises and flashing metal. Eren doesn’t know where to look. All he sees is Kenny’s grin and Levi’s glare. Except this time, it’s much deeper, much stronger, much more full of hatred. Eren curls in on himself slightly. It’s scary to look.

 

Levi grunts when Kenny strikes the handle of one of his knives. As he tightens his grip on it, Kenny slashes upwards and his knife gets ripped from his grip. It sails through the air and lands near Eren, stabbing near his leg. Eren looks like he’s about to faint any moment.

 

“I’m disappointed, midget,” Kenny tsks. “Ya’ve gotten rusty.”

 

“I’m glad I have,” Levi grips his remaining knife with both hands. “It means I haven’t found any reason to hone my skills.”

 

“Ho?” Kenny raises a brow. “Then that just means that ya have to find a reason to hone those rusty skills o’ yours!” Without any warning, he charges towards Eren, arm thrusted out and blade pointed straight at him.

 

Eren doesn’t even have time to blink when Levi comes out of fucking _nowhere_ and stands in front of him. It isn’t a surprise that he gets stabbed by the knife, but his arm is bent in an angle; Eren can just see that he has Kenny’s wrist in his grip, the blade embedded in his arm.

 

Tears spill out of Eren’s eyes. Levi is risking so much to save him. But why should he? Eren accused him of being his rapist. He doesn’t deserve to be saved. He isn’t worth all this trouble.

 

“Don’t you _dare_ touch Eren,” Levi snarls. He doesn’t seem to care that a knife had just stabbed him, glaring daggers at Kenny. “Don’t you dare taint him any more than you should.”

 

“Mighty words for a runt,” Kenny sniggers.

 

“It doesn’t matter how small I am,” Levi spits. “As long as I can protect Eren, then I don’t care what size I am.”

 

“And what can _you_ do?” Kenny sneers. “You’re bleedin’ like crazy. Ya’ve gotten weaker and ya look like ya gonna pass out soon.” He twirls the other knife in his hand, something which Levi had just remembered about.

 

Levi’s eyes widen slightly. Shit.

 

“Ya might have stopped one knife, but ya can’t stop the other!” Kenny roars as he swings his hand down.

 

Levi braces for the worst, but he hears a small bang and Kenny’s knife gets flung out his grasp. Kenny whirls around furiously, his eyes narrowing at Erwin aiming a gun straight at him.

 

“Release him,” Erwin says in a calm voice.

 

Hange appears by his side, instantly running towards Kenny and grabbing his wrist. Kenny twists and escapes her grip, but Hange’s already been gifted with fast reflexes, even before she was trained, so she follows Kenny’s movements and tackles him to the ground. Kenny grunts as he tries to kick her off, but Hange’s fully on top of him, restraining him as Erwin approaches him with handcuffs.

 

Levi can only stare open-mouthed. “How –”

 

“You honestly think we’re going to let you go with two untrained babies?” Hange snorts, getting off of Kenny when Erwin secures the handcuffs. “After Erwin and I knocked out the police, we ran down here.”

 

“Of course, with Hange’s _brilliant_ sense of direction, we’d gotten lost a couple of times,” Erwin smiles. “We even had to ask where this place is.”

 

Levi sighs, relieved and pissed that he had to be rescued. “Deus ex machina bastards,” he mutters.

 

“Hey,” Hange frowns playfully as Erwin makes Kenny stand. Kenny tries to break free again, but Erwin’s grip on him is tight. “If it weren’t for us ‘bastards’, then you would’ve been dead.” Her eyes glance to the right and her look softens immensely. “And I don’t think Eren would’ve liked that.”

 

Levi’s eyes fly open and he whips his head to where Eren is. Eren’s eyes are still wide, holding both fear and relief. “Eren!” he breathes, getting up with difficulty. The morphine had _definitely_ run its course by now, and all he feels is intense pain.

 

But that doesn’t matter. Not when Eren’s involved.

 

Levi limps to where Eren is, dropping heavily in front of him. Eren stays still as he lets Levi untie the rope binding his ankles together, the latter being extremely careful, not forgetting about his injured ankle. Eren continues to stare at Levi, eyes shining with tears and something else.

 

“We’ll leave you two to it,” Hange winks as she and Erwin leave, dragging Kenny with them. Erwin had even shackled Kenny’s ankles, though the chain length is longer than the one on his wrists. If he tries to escape, he won’t get very far.

 

“Eren,” Levi whispers, reaching for the gag.

 

“Levi,” Eren gasps the moment Levi unravels the cloth around his mouth. “Levi, I’m so sorry,” he whimpers. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m –”

 

“Shh,” Levi hushes, pulling Eren into a hug. “It’s okay. You’re safe now. Kenny’s gone. He’s gone and I’m here and you’re safe.”

 

Eren continues to tremble even when Levi pulls away to undo the bandage wrapped around his wrists. “I’m sorry,” he continues to say. “I’m so sorry, Levi. I’m sorry I thought you were my rapist. I’m sorry I had ever doubted you. I’m sorry I –”

 

“Hey,” Levi interrupts softly, brushing back Eren’s hair. “It’s okay. Stop apologising. It’s not your fault.”

 

Eren blinks with large, wet eyes. He really is beautiful. “But … if I had told you everything, then you would’ve known that it was me sooner, and –”

 

“Eren,” Levi says in a stern voice, though his face is still soft. “It’s not your fault. You thought _I_ was your rapist. Why would you want to apologise to me?” He doesn’t give Eren time to answer, embracing him tightly. “If anything, _I_ should be apologising to you.”

 

“Levi –”

 

“I’m sorry,” Levi whispers, closing his eyes. “I was _so_ close to losing you. I never want you to go through that again. I’m here holding you, and you’re here safe in my arms. I’m so sorry, Eren. This is far too late, but could you ever forgive me?”

 

Eren’s body trembles and he shakily lifts his arms to finally – _finally_ – hug Levi back. He sobs and clutches the back of Levi’s bloodied shirt weakly as tears spill from his eyes. “You don’t need to apologise,” he cries, eyes screwed shut. “Because I have already forgiven you.”

 

“And you don’t need to apologise either,” Levi says softly, “because it was never your fault to begin with.” He pulls away and smiles at the sight of Eren’s face, red and wet with tears. He’s too cute. “Now smile for me, Beautiful, and give me your ankle. I’ll need to wrap it up again. It’s dirty as hell, but we’ll have to make do for now. We’ll just clean it up at the hospital.”

 

Eren smiles shyly and, with the help of Levi, presents the latter with his ankle. With every round Levi makes with the bandage, he kisses the tip of Eren’s nose. The first one makes Eren blush heavily, sitting still like a statue. The ninth makes Eren giggle, and by the time Levi kisses his nose for the twelfth time, Eren quickly but shyly pecks him on the lips. Eren instantly covers his face with his hands, his red cheeks just visible.

 

Levi smiles. Eren’s _too_ fucking cute. When he’s done tying up the bandage, he gently pats Eren’s knee. “Well, we’d better get out of here. Come on, Beautiful. Let’s go home.”

 

“B-but …” Eren hesitates. “How? I can’t walk and you’re stabbed and –”

 

“I’ll carry you. I’ve been injured worse back then,” Levi tries to smirk reassuringly. It comes off as a grimace instead. “This is nothing.” He hisses when the pain in his stomach throbs. “Though it hurts a lot.”

 

“No, I don’t want to hurt you even more. I –”

 

“Eren.” Levi’s voice is soft. He looks imploringly in Eren’s eyes, pleading him to just let him carry him. It dawns on Eren that Levi wants to be depended on, that he wants Eren to know that he’ll keep protecting and caring for him. Erwin and Hange had stolen his victory over Kenny, so now he wants to make up for it by being his knight in shining armour.

 

Eren sighs but acquiesces, smiling slightly when Levi practically beams. “How did you even get here?” he asks as Levi lifts him up carefully, grunting as he does so. But he lifts Eren up with no problem, the latter wrapping his arms around Levi’s neck to anchor himself.

 

“Hange,” Levi says simply, manoeuvring through the door so that Eren’s ankle won’t hit the doorway. “She drove us to Mitras, and then we ran here. Oh, and your friends Armin and Kirstein tagged along too.”

 

“What?! Why?!”

 

“’Cause Erwin’s a manipulative asshole,” Levi chuckles, slowly going down the stairs. “They were worried for you.”

 

“Of course they were,” Eren frowns, hiding his face in the juncture of Levi’s neck. “I would be too if they were in my position.” He pulls away and smiles at Levi. “I like your home.”

 

“What, The Underground?” Levi snorts. “Yeah right. I hated this shithole. If I, a person who actually lived here nearly all of his life, hated it, then I don’t see why you shouldn’t.”

 

“Because this is where you came from,” Eren mumbles, looking away. “If you had already lived somewhere else, then we might not have met. If you hadn’t befriended Erwin and Hange, then you might not have given a damn if I were raped. If you hadn’t worked for Kenny to pay off your mum’s hospital bills, then you might not have been able to save me.”

 

He grins brightly at Levi. “You’re my knight in shining armour, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

Levi had stopped walking when Eren had started to speak. He feels an odd lurch in his heart. He doesn’t know what it is, but it’s making him want to kiss Eren breathless. So he does.

 

He leans forward and captures Eren’s lips in a kiss, the latter squeaking in surprise at the sudden action. Eren’s eyes slide shut when he realises what Levi’s doing, his arms pulling him closer. Levi pulls away much too soon for Eren’s liking, a pout on his face to show his displeasure.

 

“That was disgusting,” Levi frowns. “Let’s never do that again.”

 

“We just need practice,” Eren giggles, wiping away the saliva on Levi’s mouth with his sleeve. “And it takes two to kiss. You’re awful at it.”

 

“I don’t exactly go around and kiss people,” Levi rolls his eyes and continues down the stairs. “And I don’t need to be an expert kisser to know that you’re not exactly one to berate me.”

 

“With the exception of my family when I was younger, I never kissed anyone,” Eren giggles again, as if it was amusing to know. “Let’s suck together!”

 

“Or let’s do what you suggested earlier and practice.”

 

Hope fills Eren and it shows on his face. “Together?”

 

Levi gives Eren a very unimpressed look. “No, I’m gonna practice with Erwin.” When he receives a slap on his shoulder, he just chuckles. “Well, who else would it be other than you?” He expects Eren to answer with another retort, so he looks down at him when he receives none. “Eren?”

 

Instead, he receives a very odd look from Eren. His eyes are big and wide, brows slightly furrows, and his lower lip is quivering slightly. “I think …” he whispers. “I think I love you, Levi.”

 

Levi blinks in surprise before his face softens. He exits The Warehouse and walks in silence, Eren content with just being quiet. He doesn’t seem to want an answer immediately, and for that Levi is grateful. They reach the gate in no time, and now that they don’t have to hide, the walk to the entrance of Mitras is much shorter, too. They don’t run into a single person either, and Levi thanks Erwin and Hange for taking care of them.

 

Once he exits Mitras, Hange waves excitedly at them. There’s a couple of cars from the DCF with them – Erwin must have called for backup – with Kenny in the backseat of one of them. He catches Levi’s gaze and smirks amusedly, but Levi instantly redirects his attention to the beautiful angel in his arms.

 

Armin bawls at the sight of Eren and Jean just laughs as he pulls Armin into a hug. He claims that he was never worried about Eren, knowing that he was gonna be just fine. Eren playfully insults him and Jean fires back with a retort of his own, before a half-laughing half-crying Armin pushes them apart. The both of them climb into one of the DCF cars with Erwin, the one that’s free of Kenny, that is, and Hange opens the rear door of her car for Levi.

 

Hange drives in silence, occasionally smiling at Levi. Levi reciprocates it with one of his own every now and then, an arm hooked over Eren’s body. He kisses Eren on the forehead and Eren snuggles into him, closing his eyes for some much needed rest.

 

_Yeah,_ he thinks. _I think I love you too, brat._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, I know it was Armin who saved Jean by shooting the girl in the manga. But hey, we need our majestic stallion’s time to shine. And there needs to be more adjectives on knife movements, besides ‘slash’, ‘swing’ and ‘strike’.
> 
> I’m really sorry that I just sprung up my depression on people. After reading through the comments, it made me look even more pathetic, since it was so sudden and had nothing to do with anything. But at the same time, it helped me feel closer and more connected with you guys.
> 
> AO3 needs to invest in a private messaging feature.
> 
> If you’re going to leave a comment, follow these rules: ignore my feelings and write whatever you want to write. I’ll go back to the time when I reply like a day or two before I post a new chapter, since my mind is usually calmed by then and I won’t jump to assumptions. Don’t be rude even if you’re angry at anything / anyone, because everyone deserves respect. Don’t attack anyone for anything. We’re all here to read and enjoy fanfictions, mine and others’ as well.
> 
> Follow these rules and we can all get along<3
> 
> Also, someone tell me where I can buy an Eren butt mousepad. I need it for … research.


End file.
